"■'.!:.!' 


ilil 


i!    1 


!i    iHll 


n    i   i, 


!!   i! 


!i 


i         i  i 


JK  PRINCETON.  N.   J.  1 

€>  Part  of  the  » 

t       ADDISON   Al.KJiANDER  LIBRARY,  t 

(whiih  was  presented  by  ''1 

Mkssks.  K'.  ii.  AND  A,  Stuart.  If 


I         Book,  No....._^..._^.l 


l^OTES, 


CRITICAL    AND    PRACTICAL, 


ejr   THE  BOOK   OF 


JOSHUA 


ajiSIGNED   AS   A   GENKRaL    HELP    T© 


BIBLICAL    READING    AND    INSTRUCTION, 


By  GEORGE  BUSH, 

PROF.    O'e   HEB.    AND    ORIENT.    LIT.    N.   Y.    CITY   UNIVERSITY, 


SECOND    EDITION, 


NEW    YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY  NEWMAN  AND  IVISON, 

199  Bi-oadwav. 

CINCINNATI :  MOORE  &  ANDERSON.    AUBURN  :  J.  C.  IVISON  &  CO. 

Cni'CAGO  :  S    C.  GRIGGS  &  CO- 

185-?, 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1844,  by 
♦  GEORGE   EUSir, 

in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


(S.  fV.  Benedict  &  Co.,  Stereotypers  and  Printer*^ 
No.  16  Spruce  street,  N  V, 


INTRODUCTION 


TO    THE 


HISTORICAL    BOOKS    IN    GENERAL. 


That  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  which  contains  the  history  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Jewish  nation,  from  the  death  of  Moses  to  its  conquest  by 
the  Chaldeans,  is  comprised  in  the  books  of  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel, 
and  Kings.  These,  in  the  Hebrew  classification,  are  termed  the  For- 
mer  Prophets.  The  title  Prophets  is  giv^en  them  on  the  ground  of  the 
general  belief,  that  they  were  written  under  the  prompting  of  a  Divine 
impulse ;  and  the  epithet  Former  is  applied  in  reference  to  the  place 
which  they  occupy  in  the  Sacred  Canon,  as  preceding  the  books  of  the 
Latter  Prophets,  an  appellation  bestowed  upon  those  whose  character  is 
more  s^inclXj  prophetical,  viz.,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  twelve 
Minor  Prophets.  The  records  of  the  nation  from  the  time  of  the  exile 
and  the  return  thence,  down  to  the  close  of  the  Persian  empire,  are 
contained  in  the  books  of  Esther.  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah,  which  the  He- 
brews attach  to  that  part  of  the  canon  called  the  Hagiographa,  in  which 
are  included  also  the  books  of  Ruth  and  Chronicles.  How  ancient  this 
division  was,  we  cannot  positively  affirm ;  but  it  was  current  at  least  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Jerome  and  the  later  Talmudists. 

As  to  the  sources  from  which  these  records  were  derived,  there  is  a 
very  great  degree  of  uncertainty,  although  it  is  admitted  that  they  are 
a  species  of  compilation,  made  up,  for  the  most  part,  from  pre-existing 
documents,  in  the  shape  of  annals  or  chronicles,  which  Avere  doubtless 
co-eval  with  the  events  narrated.  The  evidence  of  such  an  origin  dis- 
closes itself  repeatedly  in  the  texture  of  the  records  themselves,  as  we 
shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  notice,  although  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  entered  into  the  design  of  the  writers  to  designate,  by  formal  refer- 
ence or  citation,  the  sources  from  which  they  drew.  The  mere  circum- 
stance that  we  have,  in  the  Sacred  Canon,  a  number  of  books  bearing 
the  names  of  certain  individuals,  does  not  of  itself  prove  that  the  books 
were  originally  written,  or  ev^en  subsequently  compiled,  by  the  persons 
whose  names  they  bear.     Thus,  if  we  admit  that  Joshua  wrote  the  book 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

which  has  come  down  to  us  with  his  name,  yet  as  he  could  not  have 
written  the  account  of  his  own  death,  or  of  the  subsequent  events,  it  is 
clear  that  some  hand  besides  his  own  is  to  be  recognized  in  the  compo- 
sition.    So  neither  was  the  book  of  Judges  written  as  the  joint  produc- 
tion of  those  whose  names  it  bears ;  nor  the  books  of  Samuel  by  Samuel, 
as  a  great  part  of  the  events  related  in  them  occurred  after  his  decease  -, 
nor  the  book  of  Ruth  by  Ruth  ;  nor  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles 
by  the  kings,  each  furnishing  the  history  of  his  own  reign ;  nor,  finally, 
the  book  of  Esther  by  Esther  herself.     In  regard  to  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
the  case  is  somewhat   difi"erent ;  as  they  expressly  declare  themselves 
the  authors,  and   nothing  in  the  contents  invalidates  the  claim.     As, 
then,  it  is  as  common  for  historical   documents  to  bear  a  title  derived 
from  the  personages  and  the  subject-matter  treated,  as  from  the  writers 
themselves,  nothing  definite  can  be  inferred  as  to  the  authorship  of  any 
of  the  sacred  books  from  the  simple  name  by  which  it  is  distinguished. 
This  is  a  question  that  is  to  be  determined  by  a  variety  of  considera- 
tions, in  which  the  voice  of  tradition  is  entitled  to  weigh  just  in  propor- 
tion as  there  is  nothing  in  the  internal  evidence  of  the  book  itself,  or  in 
the  statements  of  contemporaneous  history,  to  coimtervail  its  testimony. 
The  question  of  the  inspiration  of  these  writings  is  not  affected  by  the 
question   of  their  origin.     Their  derivation  from  anterior  documents, 
as  we  have  remarked  in  regard  to  the  book  of  Genesis,  does  not  militate 
with  their  claims  to  the  character  of  absolutely  truthful  and  infallible 
records  of  the  events  which  they  relate.     It  is  clear  that  the  purposes 
of  a  Divine  revelation  require  the  character  of  unimpeachable  truth  in 
the  communications  ^vhich  shall  comprise  it,  and  equally  clear  is  it,  that 
under  the  superintending  control  of  Providence,  an  inspired  man  may 
make  use  of  an  uninspired  document,  handed  down  to  him  from  a  prior 
period,  if  that  document  be  true  in  itself,  and  adapted  to  the  object  for 
which  it  is  employed.     But,  in  fact,  nothing  forbids  that  such  preceding 
documents  should  themselves  have  originated  in  a  supernatural  prompt- 
ing, of  which  the  authors  were  unconscious.     The  Divine  Spirit,  who 
sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  may  have  had  in  view  an  ultimate  use 
of  the  written  records  of  his  servants,  which  governed,  unknown  to 
them,  their  form  and  structure  from  their  very  inception ;  and  a  song 
of  triumph  chanted  over  a  slain  or  routed  foe,  the  memoir  of  a  distin- 
guished deliverer,  the  narrative  of  a  siege  in  some  "  war  of  the  Lord," 
the  legend  of  a  miracle,  the  inscription  on  a  pillar  or  the  certificate  of  a 
sale,  may  have  been  as  truly  suggested,  overruled,  and  preserved  by  the 
Spirit  of  inspiration,  as  any  precept  of  the  decalogue,  or  any  vision  of  a 
prophet.     Whatever  God  sees  fit  to  authenticate,  by  adopting  into  His 
word,  is  to  be  considered  a?  having  virtually  the  stamp  of  inspiration. 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

The  character  and  attributes  of  the  several  historical  books  will  come 
>eparately  to  be  considered  as  we  enter  upon  the  exposition  of  each  ;  but 
we  may  here  remark,  as  to  the  sources  from  which  the  materials  are 
drawn,  that  there  is  a  high  probability  that  persons  of  a  prophetical  cha- 
racter existed  all  along  the  line  of  the  Hebrew  annals,  whose  office  it 
was  to  record  the  leading  events  of  their  history,  and  deposit  them  in 
the  public  archives  of  the  nation.  The  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles 
seem  to  be  mainly  made  up  from  these  sources. 


THE    BOOK    OF    JOSHUA. 

INTRODUCTION. 

§  1,    Title^  Author,  and  Age. 

The  titles  of  the  several  books  in  the  Sacred  Canon,  as  we  have  already 
remarked,  designate,  for  the  most  part,  rather  their  subject-matter  than 
their  authors.  The  book  before  us  is  the  first  that  is  called  by  the  name 
of  an  individual,  and  that  probably  for  the  reason  now  suggested,  that 
it  relates  exclusively  to  the  important  series  of  events  in  the  Israelitish 
history  in  which  Joshua  was  so  conspicuous  an  actor.  It  details  the 
various  proceedings  of  this  illustrious  leader  in  the  execution  of  the 
high  trust  committed  to  him  as  the  successor  of  Moses.  Yet  this  leaves 
undetermined  the  question  respecting  its  true  authorship.  The  voice 
of  Jewish  tradition  very  generally  ascribes  the  book  to  Joshua,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  be  gathered  from  internal  evidence  which  militates 
with  the  conclusion  that  the  bulk  of  it  may  have  proceeded  from  his 
hand.  That  certain  passages,  however,  were,  upon  this  supposition, 
inserted  at  a  later  period,  as  is  evidently  the  case  in  regard  to  the  Pen- 
tateuch, may  safely  be  admitted,  without  detracting  from  its  canonical 
authority  or  genuineness.  Indeed,  should  it  be  maintained,  as  is  done  by 
some  critics,  that  it  was  wholly  composed  after  his  demise,  from  docu- 
ments penned  by  him  or  under  his  direction,  this  will  still  leave  its  claims 
to  a  place,  in  its  present  form,  in  the  inspired  writings,  unaffected.  The 
arguments  sustaining  this  position  have  already  been  given  in  the  pre- 
ceding section.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  the  evidence  appears  to  preponder- 
ate in  favor  of  the  opinion  which  makes  Joshua  the  author,  with  the 
exception  of  the  parts  above  alluded  to.  We  cannot,  indeed,  place 
1* 


VJ  INTRODUCTION. 

much  Stress  upon  the  passage,  ch.  24,  26,  in  which  Joshua  is  said  to 
have  '  written  these  words  in  the  book  of  the  law  of  God,'  for  it  is 
not  clear  that  any  thing  more  is  there  intended  than  the  words  uttered 
on  that  occasion,  and  in  which  the  people  express  their  solemn  engage- 
ments to  be  faithful  to  the  covenant.  See  Note  iro  loc.  But  the  follow- 
ing considerations  have  more  weight. 

(1.)  The  style  of  the  composition  is  remarkably  pure,  free  from 
foreign  words,  forms,  or  idioms,  and  so  strikingly  conformed  to  that  of 
the  Pentateuch  as  to  argue  a  date  nearly  co-eval  with  it. 

(2.)  The  writer  speaks  of  himself  as  one  that  participated  in  the  trans- 
actions which  he  records,  ch.  5.  1 :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  all  the 
kings  of  the  Amorites  which  were  on  the  side  of  Jordan  westward,  and 
all  the  kings  of  the  Canaanites  which  were  by  the  sea,  heard  that  the 
Lord  had  dried  up  the  waters  of  Jordan  from  before  the  children  of 
Israel,  until  we  were  passed  over,  that  their  heart  melted ;  neither  was 
there  spirit  in  them  any  more,  because  of  the  children  of  Israel.'  As  it 
is  said,  moreover,  ch.  6.  25,  that  '  Joshua  saved  Rahab  the  harlot  alive, 
and  her  father's  household,  and  all  thai  she  had ;  and  she  dwelleth  in 
Israel  even  unto  this  day,^  there  is  a  strong  presumption  that  this  was  not 
written  later  than  near  the  close  of  Joshua's  life;  and  if  so,  he  would 
be  as  likely  to  have  written  it  as  any  one  else. 

(3.)  It  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  so  many  names  of  persons  and 
places  as  occur  in  this  book,  should  have  been  preserved,  unless  in  a 
cotemporary  document;  and  from  whom  would  such  a  document  have 
been  more  likely  to  proceed  than  from  Joshua  himself  ?  He  might 
naturally  be  expected  to  record  such  transactions  as  went  to  illustrate 
the  truth  of  the  Divine  promises  made  to  his  people. 

(4.)  The  division  of  the  land  among  the  different  tribes  was  doubt- 
less recorded  at  the  time  it  was  made,  and  it  was  certainly  made  by 
Joshua  in  person,  immediately  after  the  conquest.  The  account  of  this 
division  occupies  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  whole  book 
(ch.  14-21.),  and  as  it  is  difficult,  in  the  absence  of  all  testimony  to  the 
contrary,  to  assign  a  reason  why  Joshua  should  not  have  written  the 
bulk  of  the  other  parts  as  well  as  this,  the  presumption  undoubtedly  is, 
especially  as  tradition  affirms  it,  that  he  is  the  principal  author.  The 
truth  of  the  tradition  may  fairly  be  taken  for  granted,  unless  the  work 
itself  can  be  shown  to  contain  internal  evidence  against  it. 

(5.)  In  ch.  17.  13,  it  is  said,  '  It  came  to  pass,  when  the  children  of 
Israel  were  waxen  strong,  that  they  put  the  Canaanites  to  tribute:  but 
did  not  utterly  drive  them  out.'  This  has  the  air  of  having  been  writ- 
ten shortly  after  the  conquest.  Had  it  been  penned  at  a  much  later 
period,  the  writer  would  scarcely  have  failed  to  mention  the  well  known 


INTRODUCTION.  VH 

fact,  that  the  Israelites  were  soon  seduced  into  idolatry  by  these  very 
tributaries.  The  date  of  the  writing  was  undoubtedly  prior  to  this 
apostacy. 

The  principal  objections  against  assigning  the  authorship  of  the 
book  to  Daniel,  are  the  following: — 

(1.)  In  ch.  10.  13,  the  circumstance  of  the  sun  and  moon  being  stayed 
in  their  course  is  said  to  be  written  in  the  book  of  Jasher.  This  testi- 
mony, it  is  contended,  would  not  have  been  quoted  by  Joshua,  or  any 
other  contemporary  writer,  concerning  transactions  of  recent  occurrence 
and  unusual  notoriety.  The  inference  therefore  is,  that  the  book  enti- 
tled '  the  Wars  of  the  Lord '  must  have  been  written  at  a  much  earlier 
period  than  that  in  xvhich  it  is  cited.  But  there  is  no  difficulty  in  sup- 
posing, that,  as  Joshua  probably  composed  his  book  towards  the  latter 
part  of  his  life,  he  might  have  introduced  an  apposite  quotation  from  a 
history  or  poem  containing  a  more  minute  or  vivid  description  of  the 
miracle,  and  written  some  years  before  his  own, 

(2.)  The  use  of  the  phrase  'to  this  day  '  is  supposed  to  indicate  a 
period  very  considerably  subsequent  to  the  date  of  the  events.  Thus 
o-f  the  stones  set  up  in  the  Jordan,  ch.  4.  9,  '  they  are  there  ^tnto  this 
day  ;' — of  the  place  where  the  reproach  of  Egypt  was  rolled  away, 
ch.  5.  9,  '  the  name  of  the  place  is  called  Gilgal  unto  this  day ;' — of  the 
valley  of  Achor,  ch.  7.  26,  '  it  is  so  called  unto  this  day ;'— of  the  ruins 
of  Ai,  ch.  8.  28,  '  it  is  a  desolation  unto  this  day ;' — and  so  in  other 
instances.  In  reply  to  this  it  can  only  be  said,  that  the  phrase  does  not 
necessarily  imply  any  considerable  length  of  time.  If  Washington  had 
written  annals  of  the  American  Revolution  in  the  last  year  or  two  of  his 
life,  no  one  would  have  been  surprised  to  hear  him  saying  of  certain 
monuments  or  memorials  of  battles  and  victories,  that  they  remained 
'  unto  this  day.'  In  like  manner  Joshua  might  have  expressed  himself 
in  the  same  language  in  similar  circumstances. 

(3.)  An  argument  to  the  same  effect  is  derived  from  the  narrative 
ch.  19.  48,  49,  of  the  taking  of  Leshem  by  the  Danites.  This  event,  it 
is  said,  appears  from  Judges  18.  27-29,  to  have  occurred  after  the  death 
of  Joshua,  and  therefore  the  present  account  of  it  is  inconsistent  with 
the  a-sserted  authorship  of  the  book.  Hence  some  have  attributed  its 
composition  to  Eleazar,  some  to  Samuel,  and  some  to  Isaiah  or  Ezra^ 
But  it  is  not  necessary,  on  this  account,  to  attempt  to  invalidate  the 
claims  of  Joshua  to  the  authorship  of  the  substance  of  the  book.  It  is 
not  denied  that  occasional  interpolations  have  been  made  by  later  hands, 
and  this  may  safely  be  admitted  to  be  one,  although  it  is  to  be  remarked, 
that  Jahn  and  others  express  strong  doubts  whether  the  two  narratives 
refer  to  the  same  expedition,  as  they  they  vary  in  several  particulars. 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION, 

(4.)  It  is  objected  that  certain  places  are  called  in  this  book  by  names 
which  they  did  not  acquire  till  some  ages  afterwards.  But  as  to  '  the 
-stfay  city  Tyre,'  ch.  19.  29,  Bochart  contends  that  this  is  not  the  cele- 
brated city  of  that  name,  but  an  inland  fortified  place.  So  the  Cabul 
mentioned  ch.  19.  27,  is  affirmed  by  Reland  not  to  have  been  the  coun- 
try to  which  that  name  was  applied  by  Hiram  in  Solomon's  time,  but  a 
city  which  in  the  age  of  Josephus  had  degenerated  into  a  village.  We 
may  observe,  too,  in  this  connexion,  that  the  expression  '  house  of  God,' 
ch,  9.  23,  is  not  exclusively  applied  to  the  temple,  but  also  to  ^Ae  tabernacle, 
as  the  Bedouins  apply  the  terra  to  a  tent. 

On  the  whole?  therefore,  we  feel  little  hesitation  in  refering  the  author- 
ship of  the  book,  as  a  w'hole,  to  Joshua,  though  we  doubt  not  that  certain 
isolated  passages  have  been  inserted  by  copyists  or  revisers  at  a  subse- 
quent period.  We  see  ek)  good  reason  to  doubt  that  the  history  here 
given  is  his  work,  as  truly  a.s  the  Commentaries  of  Caesar  are  his  5  and 
in  this  view  we  are  confirmed  by  the  a  priori  probabilities  of  the  case, 
Moses,  it  is  certain,  kept  an  accurate  register  of  the  various  events  that 
took  place  during  his  administration  in  the  wilderness;  and  as  Joshua 
was  his  constant  servant  and  companion,  he  could  not  but  be  aware  of 
the  ioiportanee  of  such  historical  memoranda,  nor  can  it  well  be  sup- 
posed that,  having  succeeded  him  in  the  same  office^  he  should  not  have 
continued  the  same  practice. 

§  2,  Conte-ntSy  Scope,  and  Design. 
The  book  relates  the  history  of  Israel  while  under  the  command  and 
government  of  Joshua;  the  entrance  of  the  Hebrews  into  Canaan  ;  their 
eonquest  of  the  greater  part  of  the  country  ;  the  division  of  the  territory 
by  lot  among  the  several  tribes ;  and  the  provision  made  for  the  settle- 
ment and  establishment  of  the  Jewish  church  in  that  country.  The 
length  of  time  embraced  in  this  history  is  variously  stated  hy  chronolo- 
gists,  at  seventeen,  twenty-seven,  and  thirty  years.  Between  twenty-six 
and  twenty-seven  years  is  the  usually  received  and  most  probable  period. 
The  leading  drift  of  the  writer  is  to  demonstrate  the  faithfulness  of  God 
in  the  perfect  accomplishment  of  all  his  promises  to  the  patriarchs, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  and  also  to  Moses,  that  the  children 
of  Israel  should  obtain  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan.  Viewed  in 
this  light,  it  is  an  invaluable  appendage  to  ihe  preceding  five  books  of 
Moses,  and  indeed  bears  to  them  very  much  the  same  relation  as  does 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  to  the  Gospels  of  the  four  Evangelists.  The 
inspired  historian  relates,  with  all  the  animation  of  one  who  was  an 
actual  eye-witness  and  participator  of  the  scenes  described,  the  success- 
ive miracles  that  favored  and  secured  the  conquest  of  the  country,  the 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

general  zeal,  activity,  and  obedience  of  Israel  in  prosecuting  their  wars, 
with  the  occasional  lapses  and  transgressions  that  interrupted  the  career 
of  their  victories.  We  see  the  Divine  power  and  faithfulness  conspicu- 
ously displayed  in  guiding,  cherishing,  and  defending  the  chosen  people 
amidst  all  the  trials  to  which  they  w^ere  exposed ;  and  while  the  gen- 
eral tenor  of  the  narrative  affords  a  striking  emblem  of  the  warfare  of 
the  Christian  in  gaining  possession  of  his  heavenly  inheritance,  it  min- 
isters the  most  abundant  encouragement  to  those  who  in  sincerity  and 
faith  throw  themselves  upon  the  superintending  care  of  that  Being,  who 
keepeth  covenant  and  mercy  for  ever. 

The  following  will  serve  as  a  synopsis  of  the  contents  of  the  several 
chapters : 

Part  I. —  The  Entrance  of  the  Israelites  into  Canaan. 

1.  The  appointment  of  Joshua  as  leader  of  Israel,  ch.  1. 

2.  The  spies  sent  out  to  view  the  land,  ch.  2. 

3.  The  miraculous  passage  of  the  Jordan,  ch.  I.  10-18,  ch.  2.  4 

4.  The  renewal  of  the  covenant,  ch.  5.  1-13. 

Part  II. —  Tke  Victories  of  the  Israelites  under  Joshtba. 

1.  The  conquest  of  Jericho,  ch.  6. 

2.  The  capture  of  Ai,  ch.  7.  8. 

3.  Fraud  of  the  Gibeonites— conquest  of  the  five   kings — miracle 

of  the  sun's  standing  still,  ch.  9.  10. 

4.  Conquest  of  Canaan  completed,  ch.  11. 

5.  Recapitulation  of  the  conquests  of  Israel,  ch.  12.  13. 

Part  III. — Division  of  the  Country, 

1.  Inheritance  of  the  two  tribes  and  a  half,  ch.  13. 

2.  General  division  of  Canaan,  ch.  14, 

3.  Inheritance  of  Caleb,  ch.  14.  15. 

4.  Lot  of  Judah,  ch.  15. 

5.  Lot  of  Joseph,  ch.  16.  17. 

6.  The  Tabernacle  set  up,  ch.  18. 

7.  Lot  of  Benjamin  and  the  remaining  tribes,  ch.  18.  19. 

8.  Inheritance  of  Joshua,  ch.  19. 

9.  Cities  of  refuge  and  Levitical  cities,  ch.  20,  21. 

Part  IV. —  The  last  Exhortations  and  Death  of  Joshua. 

1.  The  assembling  of  the  people  and  first  address  of  Joshua,  ch.  23. 

2.  The  tribes  again  assembled  and  addressed  by  Joshua,  ch.  24, 

3.  The  death  and  burial  of  Joshua,  ch.  24. 

4.  The  death  and  burial  of  Eleazar,  ch.  24. 


X  INTRODUCTION- 

§  3.   Commentators. 
(1.)  Jewish. 

Rabbi  Schelomoh  Ben  Jizchak,  commonly  called  Rasche,  or  Jarchi; 
R.  David  Kimchi  ;   and    R.  Levi   Ben  Gerson,  commonly  denominated 
Ralbag,  have  each  of  them  furnished  commentaries  on  this  book,  which 
are  found  in  the  Biblia  Rabbinica  of  Buxtorf,  published  A.  D,  1618. 
For  a  character  of  Jarchi,  see  Introduction  to  Judges, 

frnj^'izj-i  *inip  yiDID""  rr'T^S  pirosh  Yehoshiia  lerabbi  Yeshayah,  i.  e.  TAe 
Commentary  of  R.  Isaiah  on  Joshua,  written  out,  translated,  and  illus- 
trated with  notes,  from  a  Manuscript  in  the  Library  of  the  Senate  of 
Leipsic,  by  D.  Geo*3E  A«icht.  Leips.  1712.  Republished  in  the  The- 
saurus Novus  Theologico-PhilologicA,  or  Sylloge  of  Exegetical  Disserta- 
tions on  Select  Passages  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  from  the 
Museum  of  Theod.  Hase  and  Conrad  Iken,  Leyden,  1732,  vol.  i.,  p.  474, 
seqq.  This  Rabbi  Isaiah,  the  son  of  Elias,  who  is  called  Isaiah  the 
latter,  flourished  in  the  1  3th  century,  and  wrote  commentaries  on  the 
books  of  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  and  Ezra,  which  Masius  says,  in  the 
catalogue  of  Jewish  authors  subjoined  to  his  Commentary  on  Joshua, 
that  he  possessed  in  manuscript,  and  from  which  he  often  quotes. 
Comp.  WoLFii  Biblioth.  Hebr.  T.  I.,  p.  705,  seqq. 

(2.)  Christian. 

Mart.  Borrhai,  called  also  Cellarius,  Commeniarii  in  Libros  Josuce, 
Judicum,  Samuelis,  el  Regum.     Basil.      1557.     Fol. 

Victor  Strigelii  Liber  Josuce,  argumentis  et  scholiis  illustratus.  Leips. 
1570,  1575.     8  vo. 

Andrew  Masii.  Josua,  Imperatoris  Historia  illustrata  atque  explicata. 
Antverpise,  1574.     Fol. 

Masius,  though  a  lawyer  and  a  Catholic,  has  produced  by  far  the 
most  elaborate  work  ever  published  on  the  book  of  Joshua,  and  probably 
the  most  valuable  commentary,  with  the  single  exception  of  that  of  Cal- 
met,  to  which  the  Roman  church  can  lay  claim.  Considering  the  age 
in  which  it  was  written,  and  the  limited  facilities  which  the  author 
could  have  enjoyed  for  such  a  performance,  it  is  truly  a  remarkable 
work;  and  it  will  rather  enhance  the  reader's  estimation  of  its  merit  to 
know,  that  it  comes  within  the  list  of  books  prohibited  by  the  Papal  see 
— a  fate  which  we  might  be  certain  a  priori  its  excellence  would  secure 
to  it.  Pool,  in  the  preface  to  his  Synopsis,  says  of  Masius,  *  Vir  Ion- 
giore  vita  et  immortali  memoria  dignus ;  interpres  cui  parem  ingenio^ 
judicio,  rerum  ac  linguarum  peritia,  candore  et  modestia,  baud  facile 
reperies,' — a  man  worthy  of  a  longer  life  and  of  an  undying  celebrity  ; 


IN*tRODUCTlO?f.  ii 

etJi  interpreier,  whose  equal  in  talent,  judgment,  historical  knowledge,  skill 
in  languages,  candor  and  modesty,  is  not  easily  to  he  found.  Similar 
cominendalion  is  bestowed  by  Bud-deus,  Walchius,  and  other  biblio- 
graphers upon  the  commentary  of  Masius;  and  from  having  it  constantly 
before  me  in  the  preparation  of  the  ensuing  notes,  I  feel  no  hesitation 
in  subscribing  to  the  general  justice  of  these  encomiums.  The  work 
contains,  besides  the  commentary,  the  book  of  Joshua  in  the  original 
Hebrew,  with  the  Greek  of  the  Septuagint,  and  a  three-fold  Latin  trans- 
lation, together  with  a  preface  containing  valuable  readings  to_the  Greek, 
from  a  manuscript  copy  in  his  possession,  w^hich  since  his  death  has 
Unfortunately  been  lost  to  the  learned  world. 

Dayw  ChyTrjei  Prcslectiones  in  librum  Josucs.     Rostochii,   1577.    8vo. 

Bened.  Ari^e  Montani  Liber  de  optima  Ivipcrio,  sive  in  Libr-um  Josu(& 
Commeniarius.     Antwerp.      1583.     4to. 

'NicoL.  Serahu  Commentarius  in  LibrnmJosua:.  Duob.  Torn.  Mogunt. 
1609.     Paris.  1610.  Fol. 

CosM.s;  Magaliani  Conimentafii  in  sactam  Josiia,  historiam,  cum  Appen' 
dice  rcrum  ab  eo  g e star um  ante  ingressiim  terree  Sanctce.  Turnoni.  1612. 
Tom.  I,  II.     Fol. 

Jo.  Drusii  ad  loca  difficiliora  Josua,  Judicum,  et  Samttelem  Commenta- 
rius.  Addiiur  est  Sixtini  Amama  Commeniarins  de  Decimis  Mosaicis. 
Franeck.     1618.     4to. 

Jac.  Bonfrerii  Josna,  Judices,  et  Ruth  Commeniario  illustrati.  Paris. 
1631.     Fol. 

Emanuelis  de  Naxera  Commentarii  Uteralcs  et  morales  in  Josuam,  hos- 
hlibus  redimiturn  trophccis,  cum  appendice  de  Rahab  et  Area  figturata.  T.  I. 
Ant\verp.     1650,  and  T.  11.  Lugd.  1652.     Fol. 

Henr  Mahcelli  Commeniarius  in  librum  Josucs.    Herbipoli.  1665.  4to. 

Phil.  Lud.  Hanneckii  Adnotata  philologica  in  Josuam.  Gissae.  1665. 
8vo. 

Jo.  Ad  AMI  OsianDri  Commentarius  in  Josuam,  exhibcns  sacrum  cum 
e.vegesi  textum,  lectionum  et  versionuvi  varietatem,  conciliatas  antilogias, 
chronologiam,  ulilium  qtioistionum  solutionem,  objectiones  cum  tindiciis, 
ohservationes  philologicas,  et  locos  cummunes  doctrinules.  Tubing.  1681. 
Fol. 

Sebast.  Schmidii  Pralectiones  academicce  in  octo  priora  libri  Josuts 
tapita.     Hamburgi.      1693.     4to. 

For  the  character  of  Schmid  as  a  Scriptural  critic,  see  the  list  of 
Commentators  prefixed  to  ihe  book  of  Judges.  His  Prelections  on 
Joshua,  which  were  arrested  at  the  eighth  chapter  by  the  death  of  the 
author,  are  of  similar  character  and  value  with  those  on  the  succeeding 
book.     He  affords  very  important  aid  to  the  commentator. 


Xll  inTRODTJCnGHf. 

Jac.  Felibien  Peniateuckus  kiUoricus,  sive  quinqne  libri  Mstorici,  Jomfti 
Judices,  Ruth,  ac  duo  JRegum  (Samuelis),  cum  Commoitariis,  ex  fontc  He- 
braica,  versione  Septuaginta  Interpreiuni  et  variis  auctoribus  calleciis. 
Paris.     1704.     4to. 

GoTTLOE  WiLH.  Meyer  Uehef  die  Besfandtheile  und  die  (Ekonmnie  deb 
Bucks  Josua.  In  the  Thedog.  Krit.  Jmirn.,  edited  by  Bertholdt,  vol,  II.. 
Fasc.    4to.     p.  337,  seqq.     Solisbach.     1815. 

H.  E.  G.  PauLtUs  Blicke  in  das  Buck  Josua,  als  Vorgeschtchte  der  Suffe^ 
tin  und  Samuels,  in  auetoris  Theologisck-Exegetischen  Conierxaiorium, 
T.  II.,  p.  149,  et  seq.     Heidelberg.     1822. 

Claud.  Henh.  Van  Herwerden  Dlsputaiio  de  Libro  Josua,  sive  de 
diversis  ex  quibus  constat  Josua  liber  monumentis,  deque  ceiate,  qua  eorum 
"Sixerint  aiictores.     Groning.     1826.     8vo. 

The  object  of  the  authar  is  to  show  that  the  book  of  Joshua  is  com- 
posed of  ten  diflfereni  documents,  each  of  which  is  clearly  distinguished 
from  the  others  in  style,  diction,  and  scope.  These  various  portions  he 
has  designated,  and  contends  that  they  are  distinctly  marked  by  certain 
peculiarities  of  verbal  usage,  running  through  them  respectively.  Ro- 
senmueller,  however,  objects  that  this  is  very  prerarions  ground  on 
which  to  form  a  definite  decision  of  this  nature ;  and  though  he  gives 
the  author  credit  for  great  research  and  acumen,  he  evidently  deems 
his  conclusions  of  little  value. 

F.  J.  V.  D.  Maurer  Commeniar  nber  das  Buck  Joshua.  Stuttgard. 
1831.     8vo. 

This  is  mainly  a  verbo-critical  commentary,  detailing  the  nice  points 
of  grammatical  construction,  and  indicating  the  application  of  certain 
philological  principles,  fixed  by  Gesenius  and  Ewald,  to  the  language 
of  the  book.  In  this  respect  it  has  some  value,  but  very  little  in  any 
other.  The  author  belongs  to  the  freest  school  of  biblical  criticism, 
and  does  not  scruple  to  call  all  the  supernatural  events  recorded  mythi- 
cal, and  like  De  Wette  and  others,  considers  the  book  a  sort  of  patch- 
work, made  up  of  the  shreds  of  pre-existing  rhapsodies  and  fragments. 

In  the  ensuing  Commentary,  as  well  as  in  all  ray  former  vols,  on  the 
Pentateuch,  I  have  adopted  the  plan  of  giving  the  Hebrew  without 
points,  simply  with  a  view  to  preserve  uniformity  in  the  appearance  of 
the  printed  page  ;  as  the  insertion  of  the  points  would  necessarily  throw 
the  lines,  between  which  they  occurred,  wider  asunder  than  the  rest. 
By  way  of  compensation  I  have  endeavored  to  express  the  pronunciation 
of  the  Hebrew  \cords  in  English  letters  ;  and  as  for  this  purpose  the 
sounds  of  the  vowels  have  to  be  modified  by  accents,  the  reader  will 
bear  in  mind  that  they  are  indicated  as  follows: — 

d=ainhall.    e  =  a  in  hate,    i—i  in  shire.    0=o  in.  bone.    u=oo  in  moon. 


THE    BOOK    OF    JOSHUA. 


N 


CHAPTER   I. 

OW  after  the  death  of  Mo- 
ses,   the    servant    of    the 


1.  Now  after  the  death  of  Moses, 
^'C.  The  literal  rendering  of  the 
Heb.  is,  '  And  it  was  (or  happened) 
after  the  death  of  Moses,  and  the 
Lord  spake,  &c.'  This  rendering 
discloses  more  perfectly  the  use  of 
the  copulative  '  and  '  in  the  original, 
\vhich  is  so  employed  as  to  bring  this 
book  into  immediate  connexion  with 
the  foregoing,  and  thus  makes  it  a 
rcG^ular  continuation  of  the  sacred 
narrative  begun  and  carried  on  by 
Moses  in  the  five  preceeding  books. 
In  like  manner  the  book  of  Ruth 
commences  with  a  similar  phraseol- 
ogy, ^ri"'!  And  it  came  to  pass,  &c., 
although  it  cannot  be  questioned  that 
there  are  other  instances,  as  in  the 
opening  of  the  books  of  Esther  and 
Ezekiel,  where  the  1  v  cannot  have  a 
copulative,  but  merely  a  conversive 
sense  ;  i.  e.,  it  converts,  according  to 
a  peculiarity  of  the  language,  the 
future  into  the  past  or  preterite  sense, 
— The  time  referred  to  at  the  opening 
of  this  book,  was  probably  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  thirty  day's  mourn- 
ing for  Moses,  spoken  of  Deut.  34, 
8  ;  or  it  might  have  been  during  that 
period ;  in  which  time  also  it  is  the 
opinion  of  some  commentators  that 
the  spies  (chap.  2,  1)  were  sent  out, 
— -H  The  servant  of  the  Lord.  A 
2 


Lord,  it  came  to  pass  that  t:.e 
Lord  spake  unto  Joshua  the  sen 
of  jVun,  Moses'  "minister,  saying, 

a  Exod.  24.  13.     Deut.  1.  33. 


high  and  honorable  title,  applied  to 
Moses,  not  merely  in  the  sense  in 
which  it  is  applied  to  pious  and  good 
men  generally,  who  may  justly  be 
styled  servants  of  the  Most  High,  in- 
asmuch as  it  is  the  grand  aim  of  their 
lives  to  serve  and  obey  him ;  but  in 
this  connexion  carrying  with  it  a 
reference  to  the  ^qcwMvlx  nature  of  the 
service  in  which  Moses  was  em- 
ployed, viz.,  that  of  a  minister,  me- 
diator, deputy,  or  vicegerent  of  God, 
the  honored  organ  through  whom  he 
communicated  his  will  to  his  chosen 
people  and  managed  all  their  varied 
interests.  It  is  in  this  character  that 
he  stands  so  highly  commended  in 
the  sacred  volume,  having  receiv-ed 
the  divine  testimony  to  his  being 
'  found  faithful  in  all  God's  house  as 
a  servant,'  and  being  expressly  dis- 
tinguished by  this  title,  not  only  here, 
where  God  himself  is  pleased  so  t-o 
denominate  him,  v.  2,  but  also  in 
Rev.  15.  3,  where  it  is  said  of  the 
company  standing  upon  the  sea  of 
glass,  that  they  '  sing  the  song  of  Mo- 
ses the  servant  of  God.''  On  the  sense 
of  ministerial  ruling  oftentimes  in- 
volved in  the  term  servant,  see  Nolo 

Gen.  24.  2. '^The  Lord  spake  untn 

Joshua,  4-c.  The  name  oi  this  illas- 
trious  leader  of  Israel  appears  in  a 


14 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451, 


somewhat  different  form  in  several 
different  connexions  in  which  it  oc- 
curs. In  Num.  13.  IG,  we  are  in- 
formed that  *  Mo>es  called  Oshea  the 
son  of  Nun,  Jehoshua,'  where  the  ori- 
ginal is  in  the  first  instance  yHjin 
hoshea,  the  same  name  with  that  of 
the  Prophet  Hosea,  and  in  the  second 
yi;!""'  ychoshua,  having  the  first  let- 
ter of  'Jehovah'  (mn"i)  appended. 
The  first  of  these  the  Gr.  of  the  Sept. 
represents  by  Auar?,  Aust^  the  other  by 
I^jo-ju;,  Jesus.  The  Hebrew  root  of 
the  name  has  the  import  of  salvation, 
and  from  this  the  sense  of  Saviour 
has  been  transferred  into  the  Greek 
I>7.T)vj.  Jesus.  In  Neh.  8.  17,  we  have 
still  another  form ;  yiffi"i  yeskua,  Je- 
shua,  where  the  Gr.  preserves  the 
usual  form  Introvs,  Jesus.  It  was  doubt- 
less from  this  currentusage  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint  that  the  New  Testament  wri- 
ters have  in  two  instances  applied  to 
Joshua  the  name  of  the  Saviour,  of 
whom  he  was  undoubtedly  an  emi- 
nent type.  The  first  is  Acts  7.  45, 
'  "Which  also  our  fathers,  that  came 
after,  brought  in  with  Jesus,'  i.e.  Josh- 
ua. The  o:her  is  Heb.  4.  8,  '  For  if 
Jes^is  (Joshua)  had  given  them  rest, 
then  would  he  not  afterward  have  spo- 
ken of  another  da)'.'  This  change  of 
names,  in  the  case  of  various  Scrip- 
ture personages,  appears  to  have  been 
governed  by  a  change  of  relations, 
either  to  God  or  to  man,  as  in  the 
case  of  Abraham,  Sarah,  Jacob,  Dan- 
iel, Paul,  and  others.  See  Note  on 
Gen.  17.  5.  Of  the  ruanner  of  the 
communication  now  made  to  Joshua, 
we  are  not  expressly  informed.  From 
the  fact  that  Moses  and  Joshua,  just 
before  the  death  of  the  former,  were 
summoned  together  into  the  '  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation,'  Deut.  31. 
14,  that  the  dying  charge  of  Moses 


'  might  be  given  to  his  successor,  it 
I  seems  highly  probable  that  the  in- 
i  structions  and  encouragements  im- 
1  parted  on  this  occasion  were  deliv 
j  ered  from  the  same  place. IT  Mo- 
ses' minister.  Heb.  nu,"?2  riT-;?3  me- 
shdreth  Mosheh,  he  that  served,  or 
ministered  to,  Moses.  The  original 
TiTr  sharath,  to  minister,  is  used 
with  the  accusative  of  the  person 
ministered  to,  and  is  found  for  the 
most  part  in  those  connexions,  where 
the  service  of  God  is  spoken  of,  espe- 
cially that  which  was  rendered  by 
the  Priests  and  Levites.  Joshua  was 
Moses'  minister  in  the  sense  of  an 
immediate  attendant,  one  who  waited 
upon  his  person,  and  assisted  him  in 
business ;  one  of  whose  services  he 
availed  himself  in  a  variety  of  ways, 
as  Elisha.  of  those  of  Gehazi.  In 
Deut.  1.  38,  it  is  expressed  by  a  dif- 
ferent, but  equivalent  phrase  ^)25>n 
■^""^^b  haomed  lepanela,u-ho  standeth 
before  thee,  a  usual  mode  of  express- 
ing the  idea  of  ministration.  The 
word  is  rendered  in  some  copies  of 
the  Greek,  v-npyos,  an  under-wo7-k- 
vian,  in  others,  OtpairMv,  one  that  icaits, 
attends  upon,  ministers  to.  Previous 
10  the  death  of  Moses,  Joshua  had 
been  specially  designated  to  the  of- 
fice which  he  is  now  called  to  as- 
sume, Deut.  1.  38;  31.  3,  6—8;  and 
for  which  he  was  peculiarly  qualified 
by  his  long  familiarity  with  Moses, 
and  by  the  training  which  he  w-ould 
naturally  receive  in  the  station  occu- 
pied imder  him.  An  humble  and 
devoted  spirit,  a  willingness  to  serve 
God  in  the  meanest  employments,  is 
the  best  preparative,  and  ofen  the 
surest  precursor  to  posts  of  hun-^'r 
and  dignity  in  the  church.  Wiier- 
ever  this  is  the  case,  no  previous 
lowness  or  obscurity  of  origin  is,  in 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   I. 


15 


2  ^Moses  my  servant  is  dead ;  unto  the  land  which  I  do  give 
now  therefore  arise,  go  over  this  to  them,  even  to  the  children  of 
Jordan,  thou  and  all  this  people,   Israel. 

b  Deut.  34.  5. 

God's  sight,  an  obstacle  to  advance- 
ment. Persons  of  this  character  are 
often  surprised  to  look  back,  and  see 
from  what  small  beginnings  they 
have  been  raised  step  by  step,  under 
the  guidance  of  Providence,  to  sta- 
tions of  the  most  extensive  influence 
and  usefulness. 

2.  Moses  my  servant  is  dead.  As 
Joshua  was  of  course  aware  of  the 
fact  of  Moses'  decease,  these  words 
could  not  be  intended  merely  to  an- 
noimce  to  him  that  event.  They  are 
equivalent  to  saying,  '  The  death  of 
my  servant  Moses  has  left  the  people 
without  a  leader  and  a  head  to  con- 
duct them  into  the  promised  land.  It 
is  necessary  that  his  place  should  be 
immediately  filled.  Thou  hast  been 
selected  for  that  office,  and  the  time 
has  now  come  for  thee  to  enter  upon 
the  active  discharge  of  its  duties. 
Arise  therefore,  and  go  at  once  about 
the  work  of  thy  high  calling.'  Proba- 
bly Joshua's  deep  sense  of  his  own 
insufficiency  and  unworthiness,  and 
of  the  many  dangers  and  difficulties 
which  encompassed  his  path,  had 
caused  him  somewhat  to  despond 
and  waver  in  spirit,  and  rendered 
necessary  this  direct  and  rousing 
summons,  which,  for  the  same  rea- 
son, God  was  pleased  to  accompany 
with  so  many  encouraging  promises. 
When  it  is  considered  that  Joshua 
was  now  ninety-three  years  of  age, 
that  he  had  to  govern  a  very  perverse 
and  rebsllious  people,  and  was  going 
to  contend  with  a  warlike  and  for- 
midable enemy,  it  will  perhaps  ap- 
psar,  that  nothing  short  of  the  divine 


assurance  he  now  received,  could 
have  sustained  his  courage  in  such 

an  arduous  station. IT  Go  over  this 

Jordan.  This  river,  which  you  now 
have  in  full  view  before  you,  and  on 
the  banks  of  which  you  are  en- 
camped. For  a  description  of  the 
Jordan,  see  '  Illustrations  of  the  Scrip- 
tures,' p.  20.  It  was  doubtless  a  se- 
vere trial  to  Joshua's  faith,  to  be  thus 
called  upon  to  make  immediate  pre- 
paration for  crossing  a  river  that  was 
now  overflowing  its  banks,  chap.  3. 
15,  and  for  getting  over  which  he 
was  totally  unprovided  with  the  ordi- 
nary means,  whether  of  boats  or 
bridges.  But  as  God  had  given  the 
command,  he  must  not  doubt  that  he 
would  open  a  way  for  his  people, 
though  it  should  be  by  cleaving  the 
waters  and  repeating  the  miracle 
witnessed  at  the  Red  Sea.  It  was  as 
certain  that  they  should  be  conducted 
over  the  Jordan,  as  it  was  that  they 
should  be  led  into  Canaan,  and  to 
this  the  Most  High  had  pledged  him- 
self by  the  most  solemn  promises, 
renewed  from  age  to  age,  from  the 
time  of  Abraham  down  to  that  of 
Moses.  "With  a  '  thus  saith  the 
Lord '  for  our  warrant,  we  may  boldly 
go  forth  in  the  face  of  obstacles  that 
are  absolutely  insuperable  to  human 
power. If  Thou  and  all  this  peo- 
ple. That  is,  with  the  exception  of 
Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half  tribe  of 
Manasseh,  to  whom  was  granted,  at 
their  owoi  request,  a  possession  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Jordan,  where 
they  were  now  encamped.  Num.  32. 
IT  Unto  the  land  which  I  da  give 


16 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


3  *=  Every  place  that  the  sole 
of  your  foot  shall  tread  upon, 
that  have  I  given  unto  you,  as  I 
said  unto  Moses. 

c  Deut.  11.  24.    ch.  14.  9. 

io  them.  Heb.  dnb  1^3  ^^Xii^  ^"LW 
asher  a^wki  nothiin  lahem,  which  I  am 
giving  to  them.  That  is,  ihe  land  of 
which  I  have  long  promised  them  the 
inheritance,  and  of  whic/i  I  am  now 
in  the  very  act  of  putting  them  in 
possession.  Though  the  proiTiises  of 
God  may  be  slow  in  fulfilling,  yet 
the  accomplishment  will  come  at 
last ;  not  one  jot  or  tittle  shall  fail. 
Though  'the  vision  be  for  an  ap- 
pointed time,  yet  at  the  end  it  shall 
speak,  it  shall  not  lie  ;  though  it  tar- 
ry, wait  for  it ;  because  it  will  surely 
come,  it  will  not  tarry.' 

3.  Every  place  that  the  sole  of  yoatr 
foot  shall  tread  upon.  That  is,  every 
place  within  the  limits  specified  in 
the  ensuing  verse.  The  expression 
in  this,  as  in  innumerable  other  ca- 
ses, must  be  qualified  by  the  connex- 
ion. The  extent  of  the  grant  is  more 
expressly  defined  in  the  striking  par- 
allel passage,  Deut.  11.  24,  '  Every 
place  whereon  the  soles  of  your  I'eet 
shall  tread,  shall  be  yours ;  from  the 
wilderness  and  Lebanon,  from  the 
river,  the  river  Euphrates,  even  un:o 
the  uttermost  sea,  shall  your  coast 
be.'  It  is  to  these  words  spoken  to 
Moses  that  allusion  is  made  in  the 
next  clause.  Indeed,  nearly  every 
sentence  in  this  address  to  Joshua, 
occurs  somewhere  in  the  course  of 
the  foregoing  history,  especially  in 
the  book  of  Deuteronomy. 

4.  From  the  vnlderncss,  cf'C.  God 
here  pro^'pe<ls.  in  very  brief  rerm^  to 
mark  out  and  define  the  boundaries 
of  the  land  of  promise.     Its  utmost 


4  "^From  the  wilderness  and 
thia  Lebanon  even  unto  the 
great  river,  the  river  Euphrates, 
all  the  land  of  the  Hittites,  and 

d  Gen.  15.  18.    Exod.  23.  31.    Num.  34.  a-12. 


limits  should  be  from  the  wilderness 
of  Sin,  or  the  desert  of  Ara'bia  Pe- 
traea  on  the  South,  to  Lebanon  on  the 
North;  and  from  the  Euphrates  on 
the  East,  to  the  great  sea,  or  the  Me- 
diterranean, on  the  West.  The  Isra- 
elites did  not  indeed  possess  the  full 
extent  of  this  grant  until  the  time  of 
David,  but  their  failure  to  do  so  was 
owing  entirely  to  their  own  remiss- 
ness, unbelief  and  disobedience,  as 
was  ev^ery  reverse  with  which  they 
met  during  the  w^hole  period  of  their 
history.  They  were  not  straitened 
in  God,  but  in  themselves;  and  the 
same  remark  holds  good  with  regard 

to  his  people  in  all  ages. IT  And 

this  Lebanon.  That  is,  unto  this 
Lebanon,  which  was  the  boundary 
opposite  to  that  of  the  wilderness.  See 
Note  on  Deut,  11.  24.  The  moun- 
tain range  is  thus  particularized  be- 
cause it  could  doubtless  be  seen  from 
the  spot  where  Joshua  now  stood, 
rearing  its  lofty  summits  towards  the 
clouds  in  the  northern  extremity  of 
Canaan.  Foran  account  of  this  well- 
known  range  of  mountains,  any  of 
the  various  works  in  sacred  geogra- 
phy maybe  consulted.  See  also  '  Il- 
lustrations of  the  Scriptures.'  p.  103. 
The  name  '  Lebanon  '  comes  from 
the  Heb.  root  "^133  laban,  white,  from 
its  summits'  being  so  constantly  cov- 
ered with  snow^ IT  All  the  land  of 

the  Hittites.  This  clause  is  w^anting 
in  the  Gr,  version  of  the  lxx  and  in 
the  Arabic  it  i>^  rendered  vpnn  i.  e.  be- 
yond) the  land  of  the  Hittites.  But  as 
nothing  is  known  tending  to  invali- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   I. 


17 


unto  the  great  sea  toward  the 
going  down  of  the  sun,  shall  be 
your  coast. 

date  the  reading  of  the  text,  we  must 
presume  it  to  be  genuine,  and  leave 
it  undisturbed.  It  is  not  the  name 
of  a  region  lying  without  the  limits 
above  specified,  or  of  a  country  pro- 
mised ill  addition  to  that  which  had 
been  so  long  assigned,  in  the  divine 
purpose,  to  Israel,  but  it  v/as  one  of 
the. seven  nations  of  Canaan,  so  often 
alluded  to  in  the  books  of  Moses,  and 
here  probably  mentioned  by  synecdo- 
che, a  iigiu'e  of  speech  by  which  a 
part  is  put  for  the  whole.  In  like 
manner,  in  other  instances,  the  nation 
of  the  Amorites  stands  for  the  whole 
of  the  Canaanitish  people.  As  a  rea- 
son for  the  particular  mention  of  the 
Hitiites  here,  rather  than  any  other 
of  the  devoted  nations,  it  may  be  re- 
marked, that  it  appears  from  the  trans- 
action of  Abraham  with  the  sons  of 
Heih,  or  the  Hittites,  (Gen.  23,)  that 
they  inhabited  the  southern  borders 
of  the  land  about  the  region  of  Beer- 
sheba  and  Hebron,  where  subse- 
quently the  spies  saw  the  gigantic 
Anakims,  who  inspired  them  with  so 
much  terror.  It  was  natural,  there- 
fore, that  they  should  regard  these 
people  as  the  most  formidable  ene- 
mies whom  they  would  be  likely  to 
encounter,  and  equally  natural  that 
God,  in  assuring  them  of  the  com- 
plete conquest  of  all  these  nations, 
should  specify  that  one  which  more 
than  all  others  they  dreaded.  He 
would  thus  banish  their  fears  where 
they  would  be  most  certain  to  rise, 
and  by  promising  them  a  victory, 
where  they  might  apprehend  a  defeat, 
inspire  them  with  unwavering  confi- 
dence of  success  in  contending  with 
2* 


5  ^  There  shall  not  any  man  be 
able  to  stand  before  thee  all  the 

e  Deut.  7.  24. 


all  t/ie  rest  of  their  enemies. IT  T/ie 

great  sea.  The  Mediterranean ;  so 
called  as  being  the  greatest  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  land  of  promise,  the 
greatest  with  which  the  b.raelites 
were  acquainted,  and  especially  so 
termed  in  respect  to  the  smaller  seas 
in  Judea,  such  as  the  sea  of  Gennes- 
aret  or  Tiberias,  and  the  Dead  Sea, 
which  were  comparatively  mere  lakes. 
The  Hebrews,  however,  were  accus- 
tomed to  give  the  name  of  t)i  yam,  sea, 
to  every  large  collection  of  waters. 

^Tovmrd  the  going  doion  of  the 

sun.  Heb.  i:?3IDn  \xy2)2  mebo  hashshe- 
mesh,  lit.  the  going  in  of  the  sun.  The 
Heb.  usage  is  to  speak  of  the  sun's 
going  in  instead  of  setting,  as  is  com- 
mon with  us.  According  to  the  usual 
analogy  of  rendering  adopted  by  our 
ver.sion,  the  word  toward  should  be 
printed  in  Italics,  as  there  is  nothing 
to  answer  to  it  in  the  original.     So 

also  in  v.  15. %  Shall  be  your  coo.st. 

Your  border,  your  boundary,  your 
limits.  Thus  Mat.  2.  16,  '  Then 
Herod  sent  forth,  and  slew  all  the 
children  that  were  in  Bethlehem,  and 
in  all  the  cooMs  thereof  ;^  i.  e.  in  all 
the  region  or  territory  bordering  upon 
it.  Such  also  is  the  import  of  the 
word  coast,  as  used  by  some  of  the 
early  English  writers. 

5.  There  shall  not  any  man  be  able 
to  stand  before  thee.  Heb.  nr^tT^  Jib 
IZJ'i&i  lo  yithyatztzeb  ish,  a  man  shall 
not  plant  or  station  himself.  The  form 
of  the  sentence  in  our  version  '  shall 
not  be  able  to  stand '  cohks  from  the 
Lat.  Vulg.,  which  has  'nullus  pote- 
rit  vobis  resistere.'  The  Gr.  has  ovk 
avTiGT{]Gcrtu,  shall  not  resist.    But  the 


18 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


days  of  thy  life  :  ^as  I  was  with 
Moses,  so  ^l  will  be  with  thee  : 

f  Exod.  3.  12.  s  Deut.  31.  8,  23.  ver.  9, 
17.     cl).  3.  7-:  and  6.  27.     Isai.  43.  2,  5. 

idea  expressed  in  our  version  no 
doubt  correct!)'  represents  the  sense 
of  the  original,  which  is  not  so 
much  to  denj""  the  fact  that  opposi- 
tion would  be  made  to  Joshua  and 
the  Israelites,  for  we  know  that  their 
enemies  did  often  ■  plant  themselves  ' 
against  them,  but  rather  to  asserl;  the 
inability  of  their  adversaries  to  make 
any  successful  resistance.  No  man 
shall  be  able  effectually  to  withstand 
thee,  10  maintain  his  ground  before 
thee,  or  to  throw  any  serious  obstacle 
in  thy  way.  Joshua  is,  however,  ad- 
monished that  his  sufficiency  was  not 
of  himself  It  was  solely  in  conse- 
quence of  God's  being  u'iih  him,  up- 
holding and  prospering  him,  as  he 
did  Moses,  that  he  was  to  be  rendered 
thu5  invincible.  Those  that  con- 
tended with  him  were  contending 
with  omnipotence,  and  in  this  une- 
qual contest  they  must  necessarily  be 
worsted.  '  If  God  be  for  us  who  can 
be  against  usl'  What  Joshua  had 
himself  on  another  occasion,  said  to 
e  ^courage  the  people.  Num.  14.  9, 
God  now  says  to  him.  This  signal 
success,  moreover,  was  not  only  to 
mark  the  commencement  of  his  en- 
terprises but  to  attend  him  throughout 
Lis  whole  career.  However  it  might 
be  with  Israel  when  he  was  gone,  yet 
during  his  1  (\-time  he  should  be  fa- 
vored with  a  constant  tide  of  tri- 
umphs. If  it  be  asked  how  this  as- 
surance consists  with  the  fact,  that 
he  met  with  such  a  serion'=;repul«;e  in 
one  of  his  earliest  expeditions,  and 
that  so  many  thousands  of  Israel 
were  smitten  and  turned  their  backs 


^  1  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake 
thee. 

h  Deuf  31.  6,  8.    Hebr.  13.  5. 


before  the  men  of  Ai,  the  answer  is 
that  they  failed  in  the  conditions  on 
which  the  promises  of  victory  were 
suspended.  These  promises  were 
not  absolute.  They  were  made  with 
a  proviso.  They  were  to  be  fulfilled 
on  condition  of  the  implicit  faith  and 
obedience  of  the  people,  with  the  per- 
fect understanding,  at  the  same  time, 
that  God's  grace  was  sufficient  for 
them,  and  that  if  they  sought  hini 
sincerely,  they  should  never  fail  to  re- 
ceive an  adequate  measure  of  abilit}'- 
to  enable  them  to  comply  with  these 
condi:ions.  On  the  occasion  alluded 
to,  they  had  grossly  failed  in  duty, 
they  had  sinned  and  transgressed  the 
covenant  and  were  therefore  smitten 
before  the  enemy,  '  because  they 
were  accursed,'  i.  e.  laboring  under 
the  Divine  displeasure.  Josh.  7.  i'2. 

IT  As  I  was  u-ith  Moses,  so  Iv:iU 

be  with  thee.  Chal.  '  As  my  Word 
was  for  Moses'  help,  so  shall  my 

Word  be  for  thy  help.' IT  I  will 

not  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee.  Heb. 
■^5^!^  5<b  lo  arpcka.  The  original 
levm  Here  rendered  '  fail '  pioferly 
signifies  to  let  sink,  to  let  grow  slack 
and  fall  down,  being  generally  spo- 
ken of  the  hands,  and  implying  a. 
loosing  or  reli.xing  of  one's  grasp, 
and  the  consequent  falling  down  of 
the  hands,  as  in  Josh.  10.  G,  '  Slack 
not  thy  hands  ("^Ti  t)1in  ^i<  al  te- 
reph  yadcka)  from  thy  servants.'  It 
has  a  meaning  directly  opposite  to 
that  of  the  word  for  Inyivg  a  frni  hall 
taking  a  vigorous  grasp  of  any  thing 
The  other  is  the  usual  word  for  leave, 
forsake,  abandon.    The  sense  clearly 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


19 


6  'Be    strong  and   of  a  good 
courage  :    for  unto  this  people 

i  Deut.  31.  7,  23. 


is,  that  God  would  keep  firm  hold  of 
his  servant,  icould  not  let  go  of  him, 
would  not  resign  him  up  to  the  power 
of  his  enemies.  Moses  had  before 
given  to  Joshua  the  same  assurance, 
couched  almost  in  the  express  words 
of  this  passage,  Deut.  31.  G-8;  and 
here  God  is  pleased,  in  accordance 
wiih  the  character  which  he  else- 
where gives  of  himself.  Is.  44.  26, 
to  '  conlirm  the  word  of  his  servant,' 
and  engages  never  to  leave  or  be 
wanting  to  Joshua. 

6.  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  cour- 
age. Heb.  fTSiil  pTn  hazak  ve- 
ematz.  Gr.  '^if^x'"^  '^"'  dv6fiC,ov^  be 
strong  and  act  the  man.  The  orig- 
inal terms,  though  nearly  related, 
are  not  precisely  synonymous  with 
each  oiher.  They  both  occur,  though 
under  slightly  difierent  forms.  Is. 
35.  3 :  '  Strengthen  ye  (ipTH  hazzeku) 
the  weak  hands  and  confirm  {yzi2i^ 
ammetzu)  the  feeble  knees,'  from 
M- hich  and  from  other  passages,  it  is 
inferred  that  the  first,  'be  strong,' 
"  properly  implies  that  strength  which 
is  in  the  hands  for  grasping  and 
holding  firmhj  any  thing,  while  the 
latter  points  primarily  to  the  strength 
of  the  knees  in  steadfastly  maintain- 
ing one's  position,  and  withstand- 
ing every  aggressive  assault  of  the 
enemy.  From  this  view  of  the  pri- 
mary and  literal  acceptation  of  the 
words,  we  obtain  a  better  idea  of 
their  import  when  applied  metaphor- 
ically, as  here,  to  the  acts  of  the  mind. 
Tiiey  impiy  the  unr.o-^t  degree  of 
vigorous  and  determined  action,  a 
spirit  and  energy  directly  the  reverse 
of  every  thing  imbecile  and  pusillan- 


shalt  thou  divide  for  an  inherit- 
ance the  land  whicii  1  sware 
unto  their  fathers  to  oive  them. 


imous. 'IT    Unto  this  people  shalt 

thou  divide  for  a^i  inheritance  the 
land.  Heb.  ^^nzri  tanhil,  thou  shalt 
cause  to  inherit.  Which  supposes  the 
previous  entire  conquest  of  the  land  ; 
and  in  this  respect  a  higher  degree 
of  honor  was  vouchsafed  to  Joshua 
than  to  Moses,  for  he  was  only  per- 
mitted to  conduct  Israel  through  the 
wilderness,  and  bring  them  to  the 
borders  of  the  promised  land,  while 
Joshua  had  the  glory  of  actually  tak- 
ing possession  of,  and  distributing 
the  land  to  his  people  as  an  inherit- 
ance, God  is  pleased,  therefore,  to 
make  known  to  hinr  his  purposes 
concerning  him,  as  a  reason  for  his 
assuming  all  that  strength  and  cour- 
age which  he  now  enjoins  upon  him. 
Compare  the  parallel  passage,  Deut. 
1.  37,  38 :  '  Also  the  Lord  was  angry 
with  me,  for  your  sakes,  saying, 
Thou  also  shalt  not  go  in  thi.her. 
But  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  which 
standeth  before  thee,  he  shall  go  in 
thiiher.  Encourage  him  :  for  he 
shall  cause  Israel  to  inherit  it.'  This 
'  encouragement '  which  Moses  was 
to  give  to  Joshua  we  find  embodied 
in  his  farewell  address,  Deut.  31. 
7,  8,  23 :  '  And  Mo.^es  called  unto 
Joshua,  and  said  unto  him  in  the 
sight  of  all  Israel,  Be  strong  and  of 
a  good  courage:  for  thou  must  go 
with  this  people  unto  the  land  which 
the  Lord  hath  sworn  un  o  their 
fathers  to  give  them ;  and  thou  shalt 
cau'^e  them  to  inherit  it.  And  the 
Lord,  he  it  is  that  doth  go  before 
thee  ;  he  will  be  wi;h  thee,  he  will 
not  fail  thee,  neither  forsake  thee  . 
fear  not,  neither  be  dismayed.    And 


20 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


7  Only  be  thou  strong  and 
very  courageous,  that  thou 
mayest  observe  to  do  according 
to  all  the    law   ''which    Moses 


k  Numb.  27. 23.     Deut.  31.  7.     ch.  11.  15. 


he  gave  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  a 
charge,  and  jaid,  Be  strong  and  of  a 
good  courage :  for  thou  shalt  bring 
the  children  of  Israel  into  the  land 
■which  I  sware  unto  them :  and  I 
will  be  with  thee.'  The  Most  High, 
therefore,  in  these  words  emphati- 
cally reminds  Joshua  of  the  solemn 
charge  which  Moses  had  given  him. 
Grod  will  not  fail  to  adopt  and  enforce 
as  his  own  those  commands  which 
are  uttered  by  his  servants  in  accord- 
ance with  his  Avill. 

7.  Only  be  thou  strong  and  very 
courageous.  The  Heb.  term  here 
employed  pi  rak,  oidy,  clearly  indi- 
cates that  a  condition  is  stated  on 
which  the  promise  of  the  foregoing 
verse  shall  be  made  good.  This 
condition  is  the  constant  and  rigid 
observance  of  the  Divine  command, 
an  inflexible  ^rmness  in  adhering  to 
that  code  of  precepts  contained  in  the 
law  of  Moses.  This  he  was  inces- 
santly to  make  the  man  of  his  coun- 
sel and  the  theme  of  his  daily  and 
nightly  study.  IL  was  in  this  respect 
mainly  thai  his  courage  and  fortitude 
were  to  be  evinced.  A  steadfast 
obedience  to  the  mandates  of  Jeho- 
vah would  require  a  stronger  princi- 
ple of  courage,  than  his  anticipated 
conflicts  with  the  most  formidable 
enemies.  The  important  lesson 
which  we  hence  learn  is,  that  in 
nothing  is  there  more  scope  for  the 
display  of  the  highest  moral  heroism 
than  in  daring,  in  all  circumstances, 
to  cleave  steadfastly  to  the  word  of 
God  as  the  rule  of  our  conduct.    It 


my  servant  commanded  thee ; 
'turn  liot  from  it  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left,  that  thou  mayest 

1  Deut.  5.  32,  and  ^.  14. 


is  in  this  chiefly  that  the  fortitude  of 
the  Christian  soldier  is  to  evince 
itself.  He  is  not  only  to  fight,  but  to 
'  fight  lawfully,'  that  is,  in  conform- 
ity to  that  system  of  Divine  instruc- 
tions contained  in  the  Scriptures. 
From  this  he  is  never  to  deviate,  nor 
to  turn  away  his  eyes.  However 
difficult  or  self-denying  its  injunc- 
tions, he  must  obey  them,  and  rather 
die  than  depart  from  them  In  so 
doing  he  will  find  the  promises  ful- 
filled, and  the  Divine  blessings  im- 
parted as  truly  and  as  signally  as  did 
Joshua  himself  in  his  arduous  war- 
fare.  IT  Which  Moses  viy  servant 

commanded  thee.  The  particular 
commands  of  Moses  here  referred  to 
are  to  be  found  in  Deut.  5.  32 ;  C3.  14, 
and  31.  7,  8;  and  though  originally 
delivered  to  all  the  congregation,  yet 
here  they  are  especially  applied  to 
Joshua,  who,  as  leader,  stood  as  the 
representative  of  the  whole  collective 

body  of  the  people. IT  Turn  not 

from,  it  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the 
left.  Heb.  ^VI2)2  "ncn  ^H  al  tdsur 
mimmenu,  turn  not  from  him ;  i.  e. 
from  Moses ;  where  his  person  stands 
for  his  writings.  So  our  Saviour 
says, '  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  th"e 
prophets,'  i.  e.  the  words  of  Moses. 
The  metaphor  is  taken  from  a  man's 
pursuing  a  journey,  who  goes  straight 
forward  in  the  direct  road,  if  he 
knows  it,  without  turning  aside  into 
by-paths  that  lead  he  knows  net  whi- 
ther.  IT  That  thov  v  aycst  prosper. 

Or,  Heb.  ^'^iDCri  tasVcil,  mayest  do 
wisely,  mayest  deal  or  behave  under- 


B.  C   1451. J  CHAPTER  I. 

whithersoever      thou 


2f 


prosper 
goest 


standingly.  The  primary  and  most 
usual  sense  of  the  original  is,  to  direct 
one's  self  wisely^  to  act  with  prudence 
and  discretion,  to  be  icise,  intelligent, 
and  thence  secondarily,  to  prosper,  to 
have  good  success.  Thus  1  Sam. 
18.  14,  '  And  David  behaved  himself 
wisely  (5"'j"i2?Q  masikll)  in  all  his 
ways ;  and  the  Lord  was  with  him.' 
These  two  senses  of  the  word  are  so 
intimately  connected,  that  it  is  often 
difficult  to  determine  precisely  which 
of  them  is  intended  in  a  given  pas- 
sage. This  very  uncertainty,  how- 
ever, proves  it  to  be  clearly  intima- 
ted, in  the  native  import  of  the  term, 
that  real  prosperity  mid  success  in  the 
affairs  of  life,  is  the  result  of  a  wise, 
discreet,  and  prudent  course  of  con- 
duct, and  inseparable  from  it,  and 
that  it  is  vain  to  look  for  it  from  any 
other  source.  Those  only  can  rea- 
sonably expect  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  their  temporal  affairs,  who 
make  his  word  their  rule,  and  con- 
scientiously walk  by  it  in  all  circum- 
stances ;  and  this  is  the  way  of  true 
wisdom. 

8.  This  book  of  the  Uiio.  That  is, 
by  way  of  emphasis,  '  the  book  of  the 
law,'  the  law  of  Moses,  to  which,  as 
he  well  knew,  God  attached  the 
utmost^mportance,  and  of  which  he 
speaks  as  if  it  were  at  that  moment 
in  Joshua's  hand,  or  at  his  side,  as  it 

continually  ought  to  be. IT   Shall 

not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth.  Thou 
i-halt  constantly  read  and  ponder  it ; 
it  shall  incessantly  employ  thy  lips; 
thou  shalt  have  thy  heart  so  constant- 
ly imbued  with  its  letter  and  spirit, 
that    thy  mouth  shall,  as  it  were, 


8  ""  This  book  of  the  law  shall 
not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth; 

m  Deut.  17.  18,  19. 


overflow  with  its  rich  contents,  as 
'out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart 
the  mouth  speaketh.'  The  same 
phrase  occurs  but  once  elsewhere  in 
the  Scriptures,  Is.  59.  21.  '  As  for 
me,  this  is  my  covenant  with  them, 
saith  the  Lord.  My  spirit  that  is 
upon  thee  and  my  words  which  I 
have  put  in  thy  mouth,  shall  not  de- 
part out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the 
mouth  of  thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the 
mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the 
Lord,  from  henceforih  and  forever;' 
where  it  is  implied  that  the  covenant 
promise  should  be  deemed  so  pre-' 
cious,  that  it  should  be  a  perpetual 
theme  of  meditation  and  discourse  ; 
that  it  should  constantly  dwell  on  the 
tongues  of  those  interested  in  it.  It 
is  moreover  implied,  in  this  charge 
to  Joshua,  that  he  was  not  only  to 
make  the  book  of  the  law^  the  subject 
of  assiduous  study  for  his  own  per- 
sonal benefit,  but  also  to  make  it  the 
sole  rule  and  standard  of  all  his  pub- 
lic and  official  proceedings ;  he  was 
to  issue  orders  and  pronounce  judg- 
ments according  to  its  precepts,  and 
that  too  without  exception  or  reserve 
— he  must  '  do  according  to  all  that 
is  written  therein.'  Though  appoint- 
ed to  the  rank  of  supreme  head  and 
magistrate  of  the  nation,  he  was  not 
to  consider  himself  elevated  in  the 
slightest  degree  above  the  authority 
of  the  Divine  law,  or  the  necessity 
of  consulting  it ;  nor  should  any 
Christian  magistrate  at  this  day  con- 
sider himself  at  liberty  to  dispense 
with  the  light  which  beams  from  the 
w^ord  of  God,  in  regard  to  the  great 
matters  of  his  duty.    The  higher  any 


22 


but  "  thou  shalt  meditate  therein 
day  and  night,  that  thou  mayest 
observe  to  do  according  to  all 
that  is  written  therein  :  for  then 
thou  shalt  make  thy  way  pros- 
perous, and  then  thou  shalt  have 
good  success. 


9  °Have 


not 

n  Ps. 


I    commanded 
1.  2. 


JOSHUA.  [B.  C.  1451. 

thee  ?  Be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage  ;  ^be  not  afraid,  neither 
be  thou  dismayed  :  for  the  Lord 
thy  God  is  with  thee  whitherso- 
ever thoQ  goest. 

10  TT  Then  Joshua  commanded 
the  otficers  of  the  people,  saying, 

o  Deut.  31.  7,  S,  23.    p  Ps.  27. 1.    Jer.  1.  8. 


man  is  raised  in  office,  the  more  need 
has  he  of  an  acquaintance  with  the 
sacred  oracles,  and  the  better  will  he 
be  qualified  by  the  study  of  them  for 
the  discharge  of  his  arduous  duties, 

IT  Thou  shall  meditate  therein  day 

and  night.  This  is  the  character  of 
the  good  man  as  described  by  the 
Psalmist,  Ps.  1.  2,  in  words  which 
are  almost  an  exact  tran.«cript  of  those 
here  employed..  The  Heb.  term  for 
*  meditate, '  [T^yn  hagah)  implies  that 
kind  of  mental  rumination  which  is 
apt  to  vent  itself  in  an  audible  sound 
of  the  voice.  See  my  Comment,  on 
Ps.  1.  2. IT  Make  thy  way  prosper- 
ous— have  good  success.  Two  differ- 
ent words  are  here  employed,  the 
latter  of  which  is  the  same  with  that 
remarked  upon  above,  v.  7,  and 
which  should  probably  be  rendered 
here  also,  '  do  wisely,'  '  conduct  un- 
derstandingly,'as  otherwise  it  is  little, 
if  any  thing,  more  than  a  bare  repe- 
tition of  the  preceding  phrase.  The 
Arab,  renders  it,  and  thy  v:ays  shall 
be  directed. 

9.  Have  not  I  commanded  thee? 
I,  whose  authority  is  paramount, 
whose  power  is  infinite  ;  who  am  able 
to  carry  thee  through  all  difficulties 
and  dangers,  and  whom  thou  art 
bound  implicitly  to  obey.  So  in  the 
Christian  warfare,  it  is  the  God  of 
heaven  whose  battles  we  fight,  and 
in  whose  service  we  are  engaged. 


Were  it  only  an  earthly  monarch  to 
whom  we  had  devoted  ourselves,  we 
ought  to  .serve  him  with  all  fidelity  ; 
what  then  should  we  not  do  for  the 
King  of.  kings,  who  has  not  only 
chosen  us  to  be  his  soldiers,  but  has 
himself  taken  the  field  for  our  sakes, 
to  subdue  our  enemies,  and  to  de- 
liver us  from  their  assaults  1 — It 
should  be  remarked,  that  the  interro- 
gative form  of  speech  is  often  used, 
not  as  implying  any  thing  doubtful, 
but  as  the  most  emphatic  mode  of  ex- 
pressing either  a  negation  or  affirm- 
ation, particularly  when  the  speaker 
wishes  to  rouse  and  excite  strongly 
the  attention  of  the  hearer.    Instances 

are  innumerable. IT  The  Lord  thy 

God  is  with  thee.  Here  is  somewhat 
of  a  remarkable  change  in  the '  per- 
sons, from  the  first  to  the  third,  but 
whether  with  any  peculiar  signifi- 
cancy  it  is  not  easy  to  determine. 
The  Chaldee  renders  it  in  reference 
to  the  Son,  '  The  AVord  of  the  Lord 
thy  God  shall  be  with  thee.'  Con- 
sidered as  a  plerlge  of  the  presence 
and  support  of  the  God  of  heaven 
with  all  his  faithful  people,  in  their 
trials  and  conflicts,  the  promise  is 
full  of  precious  meaning.  He  says 
to  us,  in  effect,  what  he  says  to 
Joshua;  and  what  encouragement 
can  we  desire  more  1  . 

10.   Commanded  the  officers  of  the 
people.  Heh.ti'^^tilDshoterim.  These 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


23 


11  Pass  through  the  host  and 
command    the    people,    saying, 


were  under-officers,  subordinate  to 
the  d'^tS&uJ  shophetim  ov  judges,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  see  to  the  execution  of 
the  orders  of  the  heads  of  the  people, 
whether  Moses,  Joshua,  or  his  suc- 
cessors the  Judges.  Deut.  16.  18 ;  20. 
5 — 9.  The  original  is  usually  ren- 
dered ypajxiiaTcis,  scribes,  in  the  Gr. 
.  version.  See  Note  on  Ex.  5.  6,  where 
the  import  of  Q'l^tS'U  shoterim  is  more 
fully  discussed. 

11.  Prepare  you  victuals.       The 
Heb.   term  \11'2  tzedah,  prey,  from 
1i:2te?>^  to  hunt,  primarily  and  prop- 
erly denotes  that  which  is  taken  in 
hu7iting.    But  the  usage  in  several 
places  proves  that  it  is  taken  with 
more  latitude,  and  implies  provisio7is 
in  general.     In  the  present  instance 
it  doubtless  refers  somewhat  widely 
to  the  subsistence,  technically  termed 
viaticum,  such  as  the  corn,   oxen, 
sheep,  &c.,  which   they  were  now 
enabled  to  obtain  in  the  more  inhab- 
ited region  which  they  had  reached. 
For  although  the  manna  was  their 
main  dependence  during  their   so- 
journ in  the  wilderness,  yet  they  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  forbidden  to 
supply  themselves  with  other  kinds 
of  food  when  they  had  an  opportuni- 
ty, Deut.  2.  6,  28 ;  and  at  this  time,  | 
when  they  had  come  into  a  land  in-  j 
habited,  where  they  could  procure 
such  provisions,  it  is  probable  that  | 
the  manna  did  not  fall  so  plentifully,  | 
or  they  did  not  gather  so  much  as  j 
previously,  so  that  they  were  now  \ 
commanded  to  lay  in  a  store  of  other  j 
eatables    to    supply  the  deficiency. 
Certain  it  is,  however,  that  the  man- 
na did  not  entirely  cease  falling  till  i 


Prepare  you  victuals ;  for  '^  with- 
in three  days  ye  shall  pass  over 

q  ch.  3.  2.     See  Deut.  9.  1,  and  11.  31. 


they  had  entered  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  eaten  of  the  old  corn  of  the  land, 

ch.   5.    12. IT  Within  three  days. 

Heb.  ti^n'^  tiTTi^TD  -Siyn  within  unto 
three  days.  The  exact  import  of  the 
Hebrew  is  not  easily  determined,  and 
it  is  variously  rendered  in  the  ver- 
sions. The  Chal.  which  Kimchi  ap- 
j  proves,  has  '  at  the  end  of  three  days ;' 
the  Lat.  Vulg,  '  post  triduum,'  after 
three  days  ;  Luth.  '  uber  drei  Tage,' 
over  three  days.  The  prevailing 
sense  of  "n3>,  denoting  time  not  yet 
elapsed,  favors  the  rendering  in  our 
\  version,  but  Winer  and  others  sup- 
pose the  phrase  will  admit  the  sense 
I  of  three  days  complete.  The  proba- 
I  bility  we  think  is,  that  the  passage 
•  over  the  Jordan  was  not  made  till  af- 
!  ter  the  lapse  of  three  days,  and  that 
it  took  place  on  the  fourth  :  the  three 
days,  therefore,  here  mentioned,  are 
to  be  reckoned  exclusive  of  that  on 
which  the  proclamation  was  made, 
ch.  2.  22 ;  3.  1.  Or,  as  the  original 
for  '  shall  pass,'  is  literally  '  shall  be 
passing,'  it  may  mean  simply,  that 
within  the  space  of  three  days  they 
should  have  broken  up  from  their 
present  encampment,  and  commenced 
their  march,  although  the  actual  pas- 
sage of  the  Jordan  may  not  have  oc- 
curred till  a  day  or  two  afterwards. 
The  confidence  with  which  Joshua 
speaks  of  the  event,  shows  the  un- 
doubiing  character  of  his  own  faith 
in  the  promise  of  God.  Augustin 
thinks  that  Joshua  acted  too  much  on 
his  own  responsibility  in  fixing  the 
definite  period  of  three  days  for  pass- 
ing the  river.  But  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  he  would  order  a  step 


24 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


this  Jordan,  to  go  in  to  possess 
the  land  which  the  Lord  your 
God  giveth  you  to  possess  it. 

12  IT  And  to  the  Reubenites, 
and  to  the  Gadites,  and  to  half 
the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  spake 
Joshua,  saying. 


of  this  nature  without  being  prompt- 
ed by  Dif  ine  dictation.  This  was  no 
doubt  a  part  of  the  instructions  now 
given  him,  though  not  expressly  re- 
corded.  IT  U'hich  the    Lord  your 

God  giveth  you.  Heb.  Ifii:  notheyi,  is 
giving ;  i.  e.  is  even  now  in  the  act 
of  giving.  It  would  tend  greatly  to 
animate  the  faith  and  zeal  of  the 
people,  and  to  secure  their  vigorous 
co-operation,  to  see  God,  as  it  were, 
girding  himself  to  the  work,  and  act- 
ually putting  forth  his  power  in  the 
execution  of  his  promises.  It  would 
not  do  for  them  to  be  remiss  when 
omnipotence  was  visibly  engaged  in 
their  behalf.  This  language  would 
teach  them  too  that  the  result  was  not 
to  be  brought  about  by  their  own 
strength,  and,  consequently,  that  they 
could  not  take  the  glory  of  it  to  them- 
selves.  IT  To   possess    it.      Heb. 

nn^r^i  krishtah,  to  inherit  it ;  i.  e. 
not  only  to  occupy  it  as  something 
which  had  happened  to  come  into 
their  possession,  but  deriving  their 
right  from  the  grant  of  the  Supreme 
Proprietor  of  heaven  and  earth,  to 
enter  upon  as  if  they  had  received  it 
by  inheritance  from  their  forefathers. 
Viewed  in  this  light  the  language  is 
peculiarly  expressive. 

12.  To  the  Reubenites,  and  to  the 
Gadites.  Heb.  ^-13^51  '^^mx'lDT  vela- 
rubeni  velaggadi,  to  the  Reid>enite, 
and  to  the  Gadite ;  the  collective  sin- 
grilar  for  the  plural,  a  very  common 


1 3  Remember  'the  word  which 
Moses  the  servant  of  the  Lord 
commanded  you,  saying,  The 
Lord  your  God  hath  given  you 
rest,  and  hath  given  you  this 
land. 

r  Num.  32.  20-28.    ch.  22.  2,  3,  4. 


idiom  of  the  original,  particularly  in 
speaking  of  tribes  and  nations ;  as  if 
the  whole  body,  from  their  intimate 
union,  were  regarded  as  one  person. 
This  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Heb.  lan- 
guage, which  is  of  almost  incessant 
occurrence,  and  as  it  necessarily  es- 
capes the  notice  of  the  English  read- 
er, though  in  many  cases  important 
to  be  known,  we  shall  usually  indi 

cate  it  wherever  met  with. IF  Re- 

raember  the  iKord  which  Moses,  d^c. 
This  engagement  on  the  part  of  the 
two  tribes  and  a  half,  is  detailed  with 
all  the  circumstances  attending  it, 
Num.  32.  1 — 42 ;  and  it  was  proper 
here  to  remind  them  of  it,  as,  other- 
wise, having  arrived  at  the  place  of 
their  settlement,  they  might  be  in- 
duced to  seek  their  own  ease,  by  re- 
maining with  their  wives  and  fami- 
lies in  the  rich  and  fertile  region  of 
which  they  had  come  into  possession. 

IT  The  Lord  your  God  hath  given 

you  rest.  The  two  tribes  and  a  half 
had  already  received  their  posses- 
sions on  the  East  of  Jordan,  as  we 
learn  from  Num.  32.  33.  These  pre- 
cise words  do  not  occur  in  the  ad- 
dress of  Moses  to  the  two  tribes  and 
a  half,  but  the  sense  of  them  does, 
and  Joshua  intended,  doubtless,  mere- 
ly to  quote  the  substance  of  what  Mo- 
ses said.  The  phrase  'hath  given 
you  rest,'  perhaps  merely  implies  that 
they  were  now  brought  to  a  place  of 
rest,  rather  than  a  positive  state  of 


B.  C.  1451. 


CHAPTER   L 


25 


14  Your  wives,  your  little 
ones,  and  your  cattle  shall  re- 
main in  the  land  which  Moses 
gave  you  on  this  side  Jordan  ; 
but  ye  shall  pass  before  your 
brethren  '  armed,  all  the  mighty 
men  of  valor,  and  help  them ; 

15  Until  the  Lord  have  given 
your  brethren  rest,  as  Ae  hath  giv- 

sExod.  13.  18. 


rest,  which  ihey  could  hardly  be  said 
to  enjoy  till  they  had  subdued  their 
enemies.  They  were  at  rest,  how- 
ever, in  contradistinction  from  jour- 
neying, and  in  this  sense  the  original 
word  is  often  employed. 

14.    Your  loives,  your  little   ones^ 
4*c.,  Heb.  lDi5t3  tappekciii,  your  babe, 

collect,  sing,  for  plural. -IT  Ye  shall 

pass  before  your  brethren.  That  is, 
as  the  original  implies,  ye  shall  pass 
or  cross  over  before,  or  in  the  presence 
of,  your  brethren.  It  does  not  appear 
to  signify  that  they  should  take  the 
front  rank  or  lead  the  van,  for  such 
an  intimation  respecting  them  is  no 
where  else  clearly  given  ;  but  simply 
that  they  should  not  absent  them- 
selves ;  that  they  should  be  present 
with  their  brethren,  united  with  them 
in  the  expedition.  The  Heb.  phrase 
is  often  used  in  this  sense. 'i[ Arm- 
ed. Heb.  d  1:^)2)1  hmashim,  mar- 
shalled by  five.  Of  the  import  of  this 
expression,  see  Note  on  Ex.  13.  18, 

where  it  is  rendered  harnessed. 

'^All  the  mighty  men  of  valor.  Not 
absolutely  all  the  fighting  men  of 
these  tribes,  but  the  choice  of  them, 
the  most  active,  bold  and  ener- 
getic; for  as  there  were  only  forty 
thousand  of  them  that  passed  over, 
ch.  4.  13,  while  the  whole  number  of 
warriors  was  far  greater,  Num.  26, 
it  is  evident  that  a  large  body  of  them 
3 


en  you,  and  they  also  have  pos~* 
sessed  the  land  which  the  Lord 
your  God  giveth  them  :  ^  then 
ye  shall  return  unto  the  land  of 
your  possession,  and  enjoy  it, 
which  Moses  the  Lord's  ser- 
vant gave  you  on  this  side  Jor- 
dan toward  the  sun-rising. 
16  IT  And  they  answered  Josh- 

tch.  2i.  4,  &c 


must  have  remained  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Jordan,  to  take  care  of  the 
women,  children,  and  flocks.  Proba- 
bly as  many  at  least  as  seventy  thou- 
sand, as  the  sum  total  of  the  men  in 
those  tribes  able  to  bear  arms  was 
upwards  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
thousand.     See  Num.  26.  7,  18,  37. 

15.  U7itil  the  Lord  have  given  your 
brethren  rest,  as  he  hath  given  you. 
That  is,  until  he  hath  brought  them 
to  their  plaxe  of  rest ;  for  it  could  not 
strictly  be  said  of  either  company, 
that  the  Lord  had  given  them  rest, 
until  they  had  so  far  conquered  their 
enemies  as  to  be  in  no  danger  of  be- 
ing henceforth  seriously  molestec^by 
them.  But  that  was,  at  this  time,  by 
no  means  the  case  with  the  two  tribes 
and  a  half,  nor  have  we  reason  to 
suppose,  in  respect  to  the  others,  that 
the  mere  putting  them  in  possession 
of  the  promised  territory  would  be 
'  giving  them  rest,'  as  long  as  their 
enemies  remained  in  great  numbers 
unsubdued.  We  are  led  therefore  to 
understand  from  this  expression,  sim- 
ply the  bringing  them  to.  or  planting 
them  in,  a  place  of  rest.  The  actual 
enjoyment  of  the  rest  was  a  matter  of 

subsequent  favor. IT  Toward  the 

sun-rising.  The  East ;  as  '  toward 
the  going  down  of  the  sun,'  signifies 
the  West. 

16.  And    they   answered   Joshua, 


26 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451, 


ua  saying,  All  that  thou  com- 
mandest  us,  we  will  do,  and 
whithersoever  thou  sendest  us, 
we  will  go. 

17  According  as  we  hearkened 
unto  Moses  in  all  things,  so  will 


we  hearken  unto  thee  :  only  the 
Lord  thy  God  "  be  with  thee,  as 
he  was  with  Moses. 

18  Whosoever  he  be  that  doth 
rebel  against  thy  commandment, 
and  will  not  hearken  unto  thy 

u  ver.  5.    1  Sam.  20.  13.     1  Kin^s  1.  37. 


This,  as  some  conceive,  vas  uot  the 
answer  of  the  two  tribes  and  a  half 
only,  but  the  response  of  the  whole 
host,  who  thus  concurred  heartily 
with  them  in  their  solemn  engage- 
ments. It  is  not  unlikely  that  such 
were  the  real  sentiments  of  the  entire 
congregation ;  but  it  seems  more  nat- 
ural, from  the  connexion,  to  under- 
stand it  of  those  who  were  directly 
addressed.  They  afterwards  received 
the  testimony  of  Joshua,  as  having 
fully  complied  with  all  their  stipula- 
tions, ch.  2-2.  2-4. %  All  that  thou 

commandest  us  we  will  do,  &c.  Thus 
are  we  required  to  swear  allegiance 
to  Christ,  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion, the  Christian's  Joshua,  and  to 
bind  ourselves  to  do  what  he  com- 
mands us  by  his  word,  and  to  go 
wlferesoever  he  sends  us  by  his  provi- 
dence. 

17.  According  as  we  hearTcened  unto 
Moses,  &c.  As  we  obeyed  Moses. 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  this 
sense  of  the  word  '  hearken '  in  the 
sacred  writers.  If  it  be  asked,  hovv' 
this  language  is  to  be  reconciled  with 
the  declaration  of  Moses  himself  in 
regard  to  their  conduct  under  him, 
Deut.  9.  24,  '  Ye  have  been  rebellious 
against  the  Lord  from  the  day  that  1 
knew  you,'  we  answer,  that  neither 
the  words  of  Moses,  nor  of  the  peo- 
ple, are  to  be  understood  as  holding 
good  universally,  and  iciiho^d  any  ex- 
ception. They  were  sometimes  re- 
belliouS;    and    sometimes    obedient. 


What  they  mean  is,  that  they  would 
be  as  obedient  to  Joshua  as  they  ever 
were  to  Moses,  icJien  they  did  obey 
him,  when  they  w^ere  in  their  best 
moods ;  as  obedient,  in  fact,  as  they 
should  have  been  to  Moses,  and  as 
many  of  them  generally  were.  The 
literal  rendering  of  the  original  is, 
'  According  to  all  (in)  which  we 
hearlfened  to  Moses,  so  will  we  hear- 
ken to  thee.'  This  perhaps  limits 
the  point  of  comparison  to  those  ca- 
ses in  which  they  were  actually  obe- 
dient, and  excludes  tho^e  in  which 

they  rebelled. IT  Only   the  Lord 

thy  God  be  with  thee,  &c.  Chal. 
'  The  Word  of  the  Lord  thy  God  be 
for  thy  help,  as  he  was  for  the  help 
of  Moses,'  &c.  This  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood as  a  conditioro,  or  limitation 
of  their  promised  obedience,  as  if 
they  should  say,  '  We  will  obey  thee 
as  far  as  we  perceive  the  Lord  is  with 
thee,  but  no  farther,'  but  rather  as  an 
earnest  prayer  in  behalf  of  Joshua, 
that  he  might  constantly  enjoy  the  Di- 
vine guidance,  protection,  and  bless- 
ing; q.  d.  'Do  not  fear  for  us.  Be 
assured  of  our  constant  obedience. 
Be  solicitous  mainly  for  thyself  This 
is  the  matter  of  our  anxiety,  that  the 
Lord  would  be  with  thee,  and  pros- 
per thee  in  all  things.'  To  pray  fer- 
vently for  those  in  authority  over  us, 
is  the  surest  way  to  render  them 
blessings  to  us  and  to  the  communi- 
ties in  which  we  live. 

18.   That   doth  rebel   against  thy 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


27 


words  in  all  that  thou  com- 
mandest  him,  he  shall  be  put  to 
death :  only  be  strong  and  of  a 
good  courage. 


commandment.  Heb.  tli^  H'^^'^  ^'^^ 
'1"i5  asher  yamreh  eth  pika,  that  doth 
rebel  {against)  thy  mouth ;  i.  e.  the 
word  or  commandment  of  thy  mouth. 
Perhaps  in  this  they  had  an  eye  to 
what  Mo?es  had  said  respecting  the 
Lord's  raising  up  a  prophet  like  unto 
himself,  and  to  whose  word  they 
were  to  hearken  under  the  severest 
penally,  Deut.  18.  18, 19.  They  might 
have  supposed  this  prediction  lo  be 
fulfilled  in  the  appointment  of  Joshua 
as  Moses'  successor,  without  know- 
ing, at  the  same  lime,  but  that  it 
might  have  an  ulterior  fuliilment  at 
some  subsequent  period,  in  a  yet 
more  illustrious  personage. ^.On- 
ly be  strong  and  of  good  courage.  The 
original  for  '  only '  (p"^  rak)  might 
perhaps  be  better  rendered  '  there- 
fore,' as  it  undoubtedly  means,  ch. 
13.  6,  when  speaking  of  the  land  that 
remained  to  be  possessed.  God 
promises  to  drive  out  the  inhabitants, 
and  therefore  commands  Joshua  to 
divide  it  to  the  Israelites  for  an  in- 
heritance. 


CHAPTER  II. 

1.  And  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  sent, 
<^c.  Or,  Heb.  nVki^'^T  vu-yishlah, 
had  sent.  The  original  will  well 
admit  of  this  rendering,  and  it  is 
adopted  by  the  current  of  commen- 
tators. Luther's  translation  is  very 
express  in  this  sense ;  'But  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun  had  previously  sent 
spies,'  &c.  And  this  seems,  on  the 
whole,  the  most  probable  construc- 
tion. Nothing  is  more  frequent  in 
the  sacred  writings  than  such  trans- 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  ND  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun 
j\.  sent  "*  out  of  Shittim  two 


Num.  25.  1. 


positions  (technically  termed  hystejL- 
ology),  so  that  interpreters  have  felt 
warranted  to  state  as  a  general  canon, 
that  there  is  no  certain  order ^  no  form- 


er  nor  latter,  in  the  histories  of  tM 
Scripture.  Masius  contends  tliat  the 
whole  series  of  events  mentioned  in 
this  chapter  occurred  prior  lo  the  order 
given  by  Joshua,  ch.  1.  10,  for  pro- 
viding food  and  geUing  ready  lo  cross 
the  Jordan  within  three  days.  But 
even  if  this  view  be  admitted,  it  is 
somewhat  dilficult  to  determine  the 
precise  date  of  t-he  sending  forth  of 
the  spies.  Each  of  the  following  sup-  / 
posi;ions  has  its  advocates.  (1.)  The*^ 
spies  were  dispatched  and  returned 
to  the  camp  before  the  order,  ch. 
1.  10,  was  issued.  The  objection 
which  Schmid  brings  to  this  is,  that 
it  would  suppose  Joshua  to  have 
acted  in  this  matter  without  Divine 
direction  ;  for  there  is  no  hint  in  the 
narrative  of  his  having  received  any 
express  intimation  relative  to  his 
movements  prior  to  the  instructions 
given  in  the  first  chapter,  and  it  is 
quite  improbable  that  Joshua  would 
have  decided  upon  such  a  step  upon 
his  pwn  responsibility.  He,  there- 
fore, with  many  others,  adopts  the  / 
following  alternative.  (2.)  On  the  V 
morning  of  the  same  day  on  which 
the  breaking  up  of  the  encampment 
is  announced,  Joshua  sends  forth  the 
spies.  This  he  did  in  obedience  to 
a  Divine  suggestion,  which,  though 
not  recorded,  is,  like  many  other 
things,  to  be  inferred  from  the  exe- 
cution. The  spies  came  to  Jericho 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 


28 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


which  the  distance,  according  to  Jo- 
sephus,  would  well  admit,  and  in- 
tended to  lodge  with  Rahab  that 
night.  But  being  alarmed  on  account 
of  the  search  ordered  by  the  king  of 
Jericho,  they  fled  to  the  mountains 
the  same  evening, and  remained  there 
in  concealment  that  night  and  the 
"whole  of  the  next  day,  and  in  the 
early  part  of  the  third  day  returned 
to  the  camp  east  of  the  Jordan.  It  is 
indeed  said,  v.  22,  that  they  '  abode 
three  days '  in  the  mountains ;  but 
this  may  properly  be  understood  of 
one  whole  day,  and  parts  of  two 
others,  as  is  evident  from  the  case  of 
our  Saviour,  who  is  said  to  have 
lain  three  days  in  the  earth,  Mat, 
27.  63,  which  is  obviously  to  be  un- 
derstood in  the  same  way.  Comp. 
Mat.  12.  40.  If  this  be  the  right  ex- 
planation, Joshua  may  be  supposed 
to  have  commenced  his  march  on 
the  evening  of  the  third  day,  or  on 
the  morning  of  the  fourth,  and  still 

-have  accomplished  his  purpose  of 
setting  out  within  the  time  specified, 
as  we  have  already  remarked  that 
the  phrase  '  within  three  days '  may 
imply  the  period  of  three  days  com- 
plete.     This   is  the  solution  main- 

'tained  by  Masius  and  jnost_of_the 
Jewish  commentators,  and  is  per- 
Haps  tHe'  most  probable,  although  it 
is  still  liable  to  one  objection.  Josh- 
ua's sending  out  the  spies  implies 
that  his  movements  would  be  gov^- 
cmed  by  their  reports.  But  he  could 
have  had  no  assurance  that  he  should 
receive  this  report  within  the  space 
of  three  days,  and  yet  he  gives  pe- 
remptory orders  for  moving  forward 
within  that  time.  Of  what  use  then 
was  the  information  which  was  to 
be  gained  from  the  reports  of  the 
spies'?    To  this  it  may  be  replied, 


that  as  the  distance  from  the  en- 
campment to  Jericho  was  but  of  a 
few  hours'  travel,  three  days'  time 
Avas  so  large  an  allowance  for  the 
accomplishment  of  their  mission,  that 
he  could  not  reasonably  be  supposed 
to  run  any  risk  in  fixing  the  time  of 
departure  at  the  close  of  that  period. 
This  is  perhaps  suflicient,  and  as 
every  mode  of  understanding  the 
matter  is  clogged  with  some  difficul- 
ty, we  are  content  to  abide  by  that 

now   given. IT    Out   of    Shiiiim. 

Called  elsewhere  Abel-ShiUim,  un- 
less the  latter  were  the  name  of  the 
adjoining  valley.  Its  precise  loca- 
tion cannot  now  be  identified,  and 
nothing  more  is  known  of  it  than 
that  it  was  situated  in  the  extensive 
plain  of  the  Jordan.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  the  Abila  of  Josephus,  and  lay, 
according  to  him,  about  sixty  stadia, 
or  little  upwards  of  seven  miles  from 
the  Jordan,  within  the  boundaries 
assigned  to  the  tribe  of  Reuben.  See 
Note  on  Num.  25.  1.  It  is  suj^posed 
to  have  derived  its  name  fiom  the 
great  quantity  of  trees,  called  Shit- 
tim-icood,  growing   in  the  vicinity. 

;; ^  Tu-o  men  to  spy  secretly.    The 

Heb.  term  for  '  spies  '  is  D*^i3'1>3  me- 
raggclhn,  from  ^31  regel,  a  foot, 
implying  those  u-ho  travelled  on  foot, 
ybr  the  purpose  of  espial.  See  Note 
on  Gen.  42.  9.  The  original  of  '  se- 
cretly '  is  ^"in  heresh,  signifying  in 
strictness  silently,  and  has  reference 
either  to  the  manner  of  their  being 
sent,  viz.  in  a  secret,  silent  way, 
without  the  privity  of  the  people  ;  or 
to  the  mode  of  discharging  their 
duty,  that  is,  noiselessly,  stealthily. 
The  former  is  jjrobablv  the  lea  ding 
import,  as  it  is  a  matter  of  course 
and  unnecessary  to  be  intimated,  thai 
spies  should  perform  their  errand  in 


B.  C.  1451.]  CHAPTER   II.  29 

men  to  spy  secretly,  saying,  Go   view  the   land,   even   Jericho. 


a  secret  manner.  But  it  was  not 
superfluous  to  mention  that  the  spies 
■uere  sent  out  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  people,  as  from  the  recollection 
of  his  own  case  when  dispatched  by 
Moses,  Joshua  might  have  appre- 
hended very  disheartening  effects 
upon  the  timid  minds  of  the  Israel- 
ites when  they  came  to  hear  the  re- 
ports brought  back.  On  the  general 
policy  of  sending  these  spies  on  this 
occasion,  when  an  express  assurance 
had  been  given  to  Joshua  that  every 
place  on  which  the  sole  of  his  foot 
should  tread  should  come  into  his 
possession,  and  that  no  man  should 
be  able  to  stand  before  him,  we  may 
remark,  that  it  is  but  in  accordance 
with  the  ordinary  arrangements  of 
infinite  wisdom  as  displayed  in  the 
history  of  its  dispensations ;  and  we 
must  consider  Joshua,  in  alL  this 
transaction,  as  acting  not  from  him- 
self, but  from  the  impulse  or  the  ex- 
press direction  of  a  higher  power. 
The  certainty  of  a  promised  or  pre- 
dicted issue  does  not  supersede  the 
use  of  prudent  means  in  the  attempt 
to  compass  it.  Xo  neglect  the  use 
Qfjhejappropri ate  means  is  to  con- 
travene the  established  order  of  the 
Divine  councils,  and  to  tempt  Gad 
ralliei.  than  honor  him.  Even  when 
a  cloudy  pillar  was  vouchsafed  to  the 
Israelites,  to  conduct  their  march 
through  the  wilderness,  yet  it  would 
seem  from  Num.  10.  31,  that  scouts 
were  employed  who  were  to  serve  as 
'  eyes '  to  the  congregation  by  going 
before  and  designating  the  proper 
places  for  encamping.  In  the  present 
instance  Joshua  is  prompted  to  do 
just  what  any  discreet  and  skilful 
leader  would  have  done  in  similar 
3* 


circumstances.  Being  about  to  be- 
siege a  fortified  place,  he  takes  the 
requisite  measures  for  acquainting 
himself  with  its  true  position,  ^ts 
strong  ancf  its  weak  points,  that  he 
may  order  his  tactics  accordingly. 
He  was  indeed  well  aware  that  his 
victory  was  certain,  and  that  it  was 
the  arm  of  Jehovah,  and  not  his  own, 
that  would  achieve  it ;  but  he  was 
equally  assured  that  faith  did  not 
preclude  efibrt,  and  that  he  was  to 
proceed  in  the  enterprise  just  as  if. 
everything  depended  on  his  unaided 
prowess  and  skill.  This  is  eveiLtlie 
true  mode  of  evincing  a  believiiig 
dependence  on  th^  Divine  blessing; 
to  act  as  if  all  were  owing  to  qur- 
seives,  to  feel  and  acJnwidcdge  that 


all  is  owing  tojhe  favor  and  eflectual 

w-orking  of  God  him.sell.. IT  View 

the  land,,  'even  Jericho.  Heb.  '  The 
land  and  Jericho.'  Explore  the  land 
or  country  about  Jericho,  but  more 
especially  the  city  itself.  Thus 
1  Kings  11.  1,  'But  king  Solomon 
loved  many  strange  women,  and  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh,''  i.  e.  especially 
the  daughter  of  Pharaoh.  2  Sam. 
2.  30,  '  And  when  he  had  gathered 
all  the  people  together,  there  lacked 
of  David's  servants  nineteen  men, 
and  Asahel.'  Mark  16.  7,  '  Go  your 
way,  and  tell  his  disciples  «?i^  Peter, ^ 
&c.,  i.  e.  especially  inform  Peter. 
They  were  to  observe  its  site,  its 
various  localities,  its  avenues  of 
approach,  its  fortifications,  the  state  of 
the  inhabitants — every  thing,  in  fine, 
which  would  be  of  service  to  them 
in  concerting  the  best  mode  of  attack. 
The  Heb.  form  of  the  name  of  this 
city  is  1^i'^^'^^  yeriho  (elsewhere 
in^'i  yereho  and  nn*''Ti  yerihoh\  and 


30 


JOSHUA. 


And  they  went,  and  ^  came  into 

b  Heb.  11.  31.    James  2.  25.    c  Mat.  1.  5. 

is  derived,  according  to  Gesenius, 
from  n^*^  yareah,  the  moon,  from  the 
shape  of  the  plain  on  which  it  stood, 
or  more  probably  according  to  others 
from  rri")  riah,  scent.,  smell,  from  the 
sweet  smell  of  the  balsam,  or  palm- 
trees,  the  latter  of  which  abounded 
there  in  such  profusion  that  it  is 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  '  city  of 
palm-trees,'  Deut.  34.  3 ;  Judg.  1. 16. 
It  seems  not  to  have  been  situated 
immediately  upon  the  river,  but  at 
the  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles,  at 
the  base  of  the  Gluarantina  range  of 
mountains.  The  modern  Jericho, 
now  called  Rihah,  is  a  miserable 
village  of  about  fifty  dwellings  and 
two  hundred  inhabitants  ;  but  accord- 
ing to  the  most  intelligent  travellers 
it  does  not  occupy  the  site  of  the  an- 
cient city.  The  latter  is  believed  to 
ihave  stood  at  least  four  miles  nearer 
Jerusalem,  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
mountains,  although  it  is  admitted  to 
J l^  impossible  distinctly  to  identifyjt. 
The  modern  Jericho  is  thus  described 
by  Prof  Robinson  {Trav.,  Vol.  II., 
p.  279) :  '  We  now  returned  through 
the  village,  which  bears  the  Arabic 
name  of  Eriha,  or,  as  it  is  more  com- 
monly pronounced,  Riha,  a  degene- 
rate shoot  both  in  name  and  charac- 
ter of  the  ancient  Jericho.  Situated 
in  the  midst  of  this  vast  plain,  it  re- 
minded me  much  of  an  Egyptian 
village.  The  plain  is  rich  and  sus- 
ceptible of  easy  tillage  and  abundant 
irrigation,  with  a  climate  to  produce 
any  thing.  Yet  it  lies  almost  desert ; 
and  the  village  is  the  most  miserable 
and  filthy  that  we  saw  in  Palestine. 
The  houses  or  hovels  are  merely  four 
walls  of  stones  taken  from  ancient 


a   harlot's  house,  named 
hab,  and  lodged  there. 


[B.  C.  1451. 
Ra- 


ruins,  and  loosely  thrown  together, 
with  flat  roofs  of  cornstalks  or  brush- 
wood spread  over  with  gravel.  They 
stand  quite  irregularly,  and  with 
large  intervals  ;  and  each  has  around 
it  a  yard  enclosed  by  a  hedge  of  the 
dry  thorny  boughs  of  the  Nubk.  In 
many  of  these  yards  are  open  sheds 
with  similar  roofs;  and  the  flocks 
and  herds  are  brought  into  them  a- 
night,  and  render  them  filthy  in  the 
extreme.  A  similar  but  stronger 
hedge  of  Nubk  branches  surrounds 
the  whole  village,  forming  an  almost 
Impenetrable  barrier.  The  few  gar- 
dens round  about  seemed  to  contain 
nothing  but  tobacco  and  cucumbers. 
One  single  solitary  palm  now  timidly 
rears  its  head,  where  once  stood  the 
renowned  "City  of  Palm-trees."  Not 
an  article  of  provision  was  to  be 
bought  here,  except  new  wheat  un- 
ground.'  The  plain  upon  which 
Jericho  stood  is  very  extensive,  and 
as  numerous  ruins  are  strewed  over 
at  a  greater  or  less  distance  from  the 
fountain  by  which  it  was  distin- 
guished, it  is  probable  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  malediction  denounced 
against  him  who  should  rebuild  its 
gates,  the  location  was  subsequently 
changed,   and    perhaps    more    than 

once. IT  And  came  into  a  harlot's 

house.    The  character  of  this  woman 
has    been  a   much    di.sputed    point 
among    commentators.      As  she  is 
commended  by  the  apostle  for  her 
faith,  Heb.  11.  31,  and  by  her  mar- 
riage with  Salmon,  Mat.  1.  5,  subse- 
quently came   into   the  line  of  our 
}  Lord's  progenitors,  great  anxiety  has 
j  been  evinced  to  clear  her  reputation, 
1  if  possible,  from  the  reproach  of  an 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  il. 


31 


infamous  course  of  life.  On  this  ac- 
coun:,  great  pains  have  been  taken 
to  show  thai  the  original  term  ma)-^ 
be  properly  rendered  'hosies?,'  and 
so  does  not  necessarily  convey  the 
idea  attached  to  the  English  word 
harlot.'  But  it  is  beyond  all  qiies- 
C  tion,  that  the  legitimate  and  uniform 
y  signification  of  the  Heb.  term  is  that 
^  of  a  '  harlot,'  either  literal  or  spirit- 
V^ual.  Judg.  11.  1;  1  Kings  3.  IG; 
Ezek.  23.  44.  So  also  the  word  is 
rendered  in  the  Sept.,  and  this  ren- 
dering is  adopted  by  two  apostles, 
Heb.  11.  31 J  James  2.  25 ;  though 
we  do  not  consider  the  latter  circum- 
stance by  any  means  decisive  as  to 
the  genuine  import  of  the  original ; 
for  as  the  Sept.  was  the  tran.^lation 
at  this  time  in  common  use,  they 
adopted  the  expression  as  they  found 
it,  without  claiming  thereby  to  settle 
its  propriety  as  a  version  of  the  origi- 
nal. It  is  moreover  to  be  remem- 
bered, that  Rahab  lived  in  the  midst 
of  a  people,  corrupt,  abandoned  and 
profligate  to  the  last  degree.  Vices 
of  the  most  enorm.ous  and  debasing 
character  were  practised  wiihout  re- 
serve, and  received  the  sanction  of 
every  class  of  people.  From  repeated 
intimations  in  regard  to  the  devoted 
nations,  it  appears  that  the  Divine 
judgments  were  kindled  against  them 
more  on  account  of  the  abominations 
of 'iheir  lewdness  than  any  thing  else, 
as  had  been  the  case  with  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  of  old.  As  these  sins  per- 
vaded all  ranks,  they  would  cease  to 
be  regarded  as  infamous,  and  the 
term  applied  to  Rahab  does  not  per- 
haps indicate  a  character  degraded 
much  below  the  ordinary  standard. 
Suppose  her,  however,  to  have  been 
a  harlot  in  the  worst  sense  of  the 
word,  the  licentiousness  of  her  life, 


besides  being  the  natural  pfodl^ct  of 
tiie  universal  laxity  of  moral  senti- 
ment on  ;nc  subject,  may  have  been 
promoted  by  the  false  religion  in 
which  she  was  educated.     All  this  is 


said,  not  to  excuse  or  justify  her  ini- 
quitous conduct,  but  to  make  it  less 
5;urprising  that  ihe  spies  should  have 
fallen  in  with  a  person  of  her  char- 
acter, and  been  entertained  by  her. 
As  to  her  being  a  hostess,  or  keeping 
an  inn,  there  is  not  a  particle  of  evi- 
dence from  tlie  original  that  such 
was  the  case,  nor  have  we  any  rea- 
son to  suppose,  from  the  known  cus- 
toms of  oriental  nations,  that  any 
such  establishments  as  houses  of 
public  entertainment,  in  our  accepta- 
tion of  the  phrase,  existed  among 
them.  Caravanserais  or  khans  are 
indeed  found  in  most  parts  of  the 
East,  but  they  are  very  different  from 
public  houses,  taverns  or  hotels,  with 
as.  These  are  the  result  of  a  much 
more  advanced  slate  of  society  ihan 
has  ever  prevailed  in  the  East  The 
following  deicription  from  Volney, 
will  give  the  reader  somewhat  of  a 
correct  idea  of  oriental  accommoda- 
tions of  this  nature.  '  There  are  no 
imis  any  where  ;  but  the  ci.ies,  and 
commonly  the  villages,  hav^e  a  large 
building,  called  a  khan  or  caravan- 
serai, which  serves  as  an  asylum  for 
all  travellers.  '  These  houses  of  re- 
ception are  always  built  without  the 
precincts  of  towns,  and  consist  of  four 
wings  round  a  square  court,  which 
serves  by  way  of  inclosure  for  the 
beasts  of  burden.  The  lodgings  are 
cells,  where  you  find  nothing  but  bare 
walls,  dust,  and  sometimes  scorpions. 
The  keeper  of  this  khan  gives  the 
traveller  the  key  and  a  mat ;  and  he 
provides  himself  the  rest.  He  must 
•therefore  carry  with  him  his  bed,  his 


32 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


2  And  ''  it  was  told  the  king 
of  Jericho,  saying,  Behold,  there 
came  men  in  hither  to-night  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  to  search 
out  the  country. 

a  Ps.  127.  1.    Prov.  21.  30. 


3  And  the  king  of  Jericho  sent 
unto  Rahab,  saying.  Bring  forth 
the  men  that  are  come  to  thee, 
which  are  entered  into  thine 
house :  for  they  be  come  to 
search  out  all  the  country. 


kitchen  utensils^  and  evea  bis  pro- 
visions ;  for  frequently  not  even  bread 
is  to  be  found  in  the  villages,'    That 
Rahab  had  charge  of  such  an  esta- 
blishment  is  in  the  highest  degree 
improbable.     Far  more  likely  is  it 
that  she  was.  or  had  been,  a  woman 
of  loose  morals,  living  in  a  private 
station,  and  that  the  spies  came  to 
her  house,  moved  doubtless  by  a  se- 
cret impulse   from  above,  because 
I  from  its  appearance,  locality,  or  other 
*  causes,  which  we  cannot  now  ascer- 
tain, it  seemed  to  them  a  stopping 
place  best  suited  to  the  purpose  in 
which  they  were  now  engaged  ;  and 
in  countries  but  little  civilized,  there 
is    never  much    ceremony    among 
travellers  in  applying  for  a  night's 
lodging.      Hospitality  is   almost   a 
universal   characteristic  of  s'ach   a 
--  state  of  society.    But  whatever  may 
r     have  been  Rahab's  character  pre- 
1      vio^LS  to  the  destruction  of  Jericho, 
^   there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
I   after  that  event  it  was  other  than 
}   pious  and  exemplary,  and  such  as 
Vjbecame  a  true  penitent.     The  oppro- 
brimis  appellation,  it  is  true,  remain- 
ed, and  it  was  not  unfitting  that  her 
name,  in   the  providence   of   God, 
should    descend    to    posterity  with 
something  of  a  stigma  attached  to 
it,   especially  as    it  is  according  to 
scriptural  usage,  that  a  person  should 
be  called  by  a  former  denomination, 
even  after  the    grounds  of  it  have 
ceased.      Thus   Matthew   is  called 
'  Matthew  the  publican,'  Mat.  10.  3  j 


9.  9,  after  he  had  been  chosen  an 
apostle,  and  Simon  is  called  •  Simon 
the  leper  J  Mat.  26.  G,  though  cleans- 
ed from  his  leprosy.  But  if  she  had 
truly  repented  and  reformed,  there 
is  no  more  justice  in  charging  the 
sins  of  her  former  life  upon  her^ 
than  in  reproaching  Abraham  with 
the  sin  of  idolatry,  of  which  be  was 

doubtless  guilty  before  his  call. 

IT  And  lodged  there.  Heb.  "Crr;'!! 
nf3"iI3  va-yishkebu  shammdh,  and  lay 
doicn  there.  That  is,  they  went  in 
with  the  design  of  lodging  there,  and 
probably  had  actually  lain  down  and 
composed  themselves  to  rest,  when 
the  arrival  of  the  king's  messengers 
defeated  their  purpose,  interrupted 
their  repose,  and  made  it  necessary 
for  them  to  save  themselves  by  flight. 
Thus  Gen.  37.  21,  'And  Reuben 
heard  it.  and  he  delivered  him  out 
of  their  hands,'  i.  e.  he  purposed  to 
deliver  him. 

2.  Behold  there  came  men — to  search 
out  the  country.  This  c^J^.,  have 
been  only  a  conjecture,  yet^h^  Affirm 
it  as  a  matter  of  absolute  certaint^^ 
As  they  could  conceive  of  no  other 
motive  for  which  they  had  come,  it 
was  perhaps  natural  that  they  should 
confidently  assign  this  as  the  true  one. 

3.  For  they  be  come,  &c.  This 
seems  to  have  been  said  by  way  of 
answer  to  anticipated  objections  on 
her  part,  as  if  it  were  the  height  of 
treachery  to  her  guests  thus  to  deal 
with  them.  '  But  no,  you  need  have 
no  scruples  on  this  score,  for  the  men 


B.  C.  1451.-] 


CHAPTER  II. 


33 


4  ^And  the  woman  took  the 
two  men,  and  hid  them,  and  said 
thus.  There  came  men  unto  me, 
but  1  wist  not  whence  they  were : 

5  And  it  came  to  pass  about 

e  See  2  Sam.  17.  19,  20. 

are  not  good  men,  as  you  may  have 
supposed  ;  they  have  come  hither  as 
enemies  and  spies,  whom  it  will  be 
no  breach  of  the  laws  of  hospitality 
to  deliver  up  to  justice.' 

4.  And  the  looman  took  the  two  men 
and  hid  them.  Heb.  1352m  vattitz- 
peiio,  hid  him^j.  e.  each  f^rip  n£r_]jf,tp ; 
implying-  probably  that  she  bid  thpjp. 
^eparaiely,  ai  :~i<w_.'  (li-^:;i!i';e  iVom 
^each_otjn,T.  The  original  I'm  '  took,' 
should  probably  be  rendered  '  had  ta- 
ken,' and  the  whole  clause  inclosed 
in  a  parenthesis.  She  had,  in  all 
likelihood,  learnt  soon  after  their  ar- 
rival the  object  of  their  errand,  and 
aware  of  the  danger  to  which  they 
would  be  exposed  if  discovered,  she 
had.  at  an  early  hour,  conveyed  them 
to  a  place  of  concealment ;  not,  how- 
ev^er,  before  rumors  of  their  presence 
began  to  circulate  about  the  city, 
jriiis^is  jitstly  celebrated  by  the  apos- 
tle as  an  instance  of  high  and  heroic 
f auh^J^KITr.  STl^^  So  strong  was 
her  persuasion  of  the  truth  of  what 
had  been  announced  to  her,  so  fully 
was  she  convinced,  from  what  she 
had  heard  of  the  wonders  wrought 
for  Israel  that  their  God  w^s  the  only 
true  God.  and  consequently  that  his 
declared  purpose  in  regard  to  Canaan 
would  surely  come  to  pass,  that  she 
ventures  her  life  upon  her  faith.  She 
knew  that  harboring  them  was  expos- 
ing herself  to  the  death  of  a  traitor 
to  her  country,  and  yet  she  runs  the 
risk.  ' ,She..c.Q;u.t£i3iiish.er  life  for  the 
present,  that  she  may  save  it  fo£t!ie 


the  time  of  shutting  of  the  gate, 
when  it  was  dark,  that  the  men 
went  out :  whither  the  men  went 
I  wot  not:  pursue  after  them 
quickly ;  for  ye  shall  overtake 
them. 


lutu££^  neglected  her  own  king  and 
country,  for  strangers  which  she 
never  saw  ;  and  more  feared  the  de- 
struction of  that  city  before  it  knew 
that  it  had  an  enemy,  than  the  dis- 
pleasure and  mortal  revenge  of  her 
king.'  Bp,  Hall,  It  was  thus  that 
her  faith  justified  itself  by  works. 
Had  she  merely  assttred  the  spies, 
that  though  she  believed  that  both 
Jericho  and  Canaan  would  fall  into 
their  hands,  yet  in  her  circum.stances 
she  could  show  them  no  kindness, 
her  faith  would  have  been  dead  and 
inactive,  and  would  not  hav^e  justified 
her,  James  2.  25.  But  her  conduct 
showed  that  it  was  active  and  lively, 
and  the  event  proved  that  it  was  efii- 
cacious  to  her  salvation.  So,  unless 
our  faith  leads  us  to  incur  hazards 
and  make  sacrifices  for  God,  it  is  to 

be  accounted  of  no  avail. IT  There 

came  men  unto  me,  but  I  wist  not 
ivhence  they  vjere.  Thus  far,  perhaps, 
her  answer  contains  no  violation  of 
truth.  She  admits  that  two  men 
came  to  her  house,  but  at  the  time  of 
their  coming,  she  knew  not  whence 
they  were.  The  verb  in  the  original 
is  in  the  past  tense,  and  should  be  so 
rendered — '  I  knew  not' 

5.  About  the  time  of  shutting  of  the 

gate.    The  gate  of  the  city. IT  The 

men  went  out,  &e.  This  is  the  part 
of  Rahab's  conduct  most  ditficult  to 
be  accounted  for,  consistently  with 
the  commendations  elsewhere  be- 
stowed upon  her  by  the  sacred  wri- 
ters.    That  she  deceived  the  messen- 


:^4 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


gers  by  a  falsehood  is  indubitable. 
She  said  the  spies  had  left  her  house 
when  they  were  still  in  it.  How  is 
this  to  be  reconciled  with  the  work- 
ings of  a  heart  made  right  in  the 
sight  of  God  1  The  question  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  no  easy  solution ;  but 
in  forming  a  judgment  of  her  con- 
duct, it  is  fair  that  Rahab  should 
have  the  benefit  of  every  extenuating 
circumstance  that  can  be  adduced  in 
her  favor;  and  such  are  the  following. 
(1.)  Havingbeen  born  and  brought 
up  among  the  depraved  Canaan- 
ites,  she  had  probably  never  been 
taught  the  evil  of  lying,  and  least 
of  all  where  ai]  apparently  good 
end  was  to  be  answered  by  it.  From 
the  uniform  testimony  of  travellers 
and  missionaries,  it  is  evident  that 
among  all  heathen  nations,  particu- 
larly those  of  the  East,  lying  ever  has 
been,  and  still  is,  a  practice  of  uni- 
versal prevalence,  and  of  the  crimi- 
nality of  which  they  have  scarcely 
any  sense.  So  weak  is  the  feeling 
of  obligation,  as  to  the  observance  of 
strict  veracity,  that  even  apparently 
sincere  converts  have  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  freeing  themselves  from 
the  habit  of  equivocation,  and  need 
to  be  perpetually  admonished  on  that 
score.  (See  Read's  Christian  Brah- 
mun.)  What  wonder  then  that  Ra- 
hab, a  poor,  ignorant,  heathen  wo- 
man, upon  whose  mind  the  light  of  a 
saving  knowledge  had  just  begun  to 
dawn,  should  have  prevaricated  in 
the  trying  circumstances  in  whicli 
she  was  placed  ^  How-  much  allow^- 
ance  precisely  is  to  be  made  for  her 
on  this  ground  wcmay  not  know,  but 
God  does.  To  him  we  may  leave  it. 
That  it  should  go  someichat  in  abate 
ment  of  her  guilt,  if  guilty  she  were 
we  have  no  doubt. 


(2.)  Apart  from  the  above  consid- 
eration, it  was  truly  a  difficult  prob- 
lem to  be  solved,  how  she  should,  un- 
der the  circumstances,  act  according 
to  her  faith.  She  fully  believed  that 
what  the  spies  had  told  her  was  true. 
She  says  not,  '  I  fear,'  or  '  I  believe,' 
but '  Iknoi'j,  that  the  Lord  hath  given 
you  the  land'  She  was  satisfied  that 
it  was  in  vain  to  fight  against  God, 
and  what  could  she  do '?  If  she  had 
either  told  the  truth  or  remained  si- 
lent, she  had  betrayed -the  spies  ;  but 
if  she  believed  them  sent  of  God, 
could  she  have  done  this  without  sin  1 
She  knew,  moreover,  very  well,  that 
if  these  two  spies  were  put  to  death, 
it  would  make  no  difference  what- 
ever as  to  the  issue  of  the  contest. 
The  whole  city  and  iis  inhabitants 
would  at  any  rate  be  destroyed.  To 
what  purpose  then  would  it  be  to  de- 
liver up  the  spies  1  It  would  not  save 
one  single  life ;  it  would  only  be  to 
continue  fighting  against  God  and  to 
bring  on  herself  and  her  family  that 
destruction  which  it  was  now  in  her 
power  to  avert.  By  concealing  the 
spies  she  could  in  fact  injure  nobod}^, 
whereas  by  giving  them  up,  she  would 
sacrifice  not  them  only,  but  also 
herself  and  her  family.  Was  there 
then  any  other  conceivable  mode  by 
w^hich  she  could  act  according  to  her 
faith,  than  by  practising  an  imposi- 
tion upon  the  king's  officers  1 

(3.)  By  the  fact  of  her  exercising  a 
firm  faith  in  the  Divine  testimony, 
she  did  virtually  throw  herself  upon 
the  side  of  Israel,  and  unite  her  in- 
terests with  theirs.  Henceforth  their 
enemies  were  hers.  If  the  Canaan- 
ites  had  no  right  to  demand  the  truth 
of  Israel,  they  had  no  right  to  de- 
mand it  of  her.  If  it  would  have 
been  rigbt  for  the  Israelites  to  have 


B.  C.  145L] 


CHAPTER   11. 


35 


6  But  ^she  had  brought  them 
up  to  the  roof  of  the  house,  and 
hid  them  with  the  stdks  of  flax, 
which  she  liad  laid  in  order  upon 
the  roof. 

f  See  Exocl.  1.  17.     2  Sam.  17.  19. 

recourse  to  a  stratagem  to  mislead  an 
enemy  in  arms,  we  see  not  why  it 
was  not  equally  right  for  her.  But 
that  the  I:<raeliies  ofien  did  resort  to 
such  expedients  in  carrying  on  their 
wars  is  beyond  question,  nor  do  the 
scriptures  absolutely  condemn  them. 
The}'  are  certainly  as  lawful  as  war 
itself  is.  No  one  probably  doubts 
that  Elisha  was  justified  in  deceiving 
the  Syrian  army,  and  leading  them 
blinded  from  Dotham,  whither  they 
had  come  to  destroy  him,  to  Samaria, 
where  they  were  brought  into  the 
power  of  the  king  of  Israel.  Con- 
sidering Rahabthen  as  really  leagued 
with  I.-rael  against  her  countrymen, 
why  is  she  not  equally  to  be  justified 
with  Elisha  in  imposing  upon  her 
enemies  1  If  they  will  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  deceived  by  her  direction 
to  pursue  the  spies  another  way,  let 
them  be  deceived.  The  fidelity  that 
slie  owed  to  God  was  entirely  para- 
m.ount  to  that  which  she  owed  her 
country,  and  she  was  bound  to  act 
accordingly.  But  whether  we  justify 
or  condemn  her  conduct,  it  can  afibrd 
no  precedent  to  us.  Before  we  can 
plead  her  example  in  justification  of 
treachery  or  falsehood,  we  must  be 
circumstanced  as  she  was.  But  this 
it  is  nearly  impossible  we  ever  should 
be. 

6.  She  had  brought  them  up  to  the 
roof  of  the  house.  This  verse  is  also 
parenthetical,  and  designed  to  explain 
more  particularly  the  circumstances 
of  the  concealment  mentioned,  v.  4. 


7  And  the  men  pursued  after 
them  the  w^ay  to  Jordan  unto 
the  fords  :  and  as  soon  as  they 
which  pursued  after  them  were 
gone  out,  they  shut  the  gate. 


The  roofs  of  houses  were  then,  as 
they  still  are  in  that  country,  flat,  and 
being  furnished  with  such  battle- 
ments or  parapets,  as  were  com- 
manded to  the  Jews,  Deut.  22.  8, 
were  made  use  of  for  walking  or 
sleeping  upon,  or  for  depositing  any 
i  kind  of  goods  or  chattels  wiiich  could 
not  be  conv^eniently  bestowed  else- 
where.    See  my  '  Illustrations  of  the 

Scriptures,'  p.  159,414,  461. '^Hid 

them  u-ith  the  stoMcs  ofjfax,  &c.  This 
was  probably  laid  upon  the  roof,  in 
order  to  dry  in  the  sun,  preparatory 
to  beating  and  dressing  it  for  the 
wheel  on  which  it  was  to  be  spun. 
Had  she  kept  a  public-house,  as  some 
have  supposed,  she  would  have  been 
less  likely  to  have  had  her  roof 
spread  over  with-  such  an  article. 
The  original  is  explicit  in  saying 
that  tlie  flax  had  been  spread  out  orl 
laid  in  order  'for  herself,'  as  if  for| 
her  own  iise ;  from  which  the  infer-  1 
ence  is,  we  think,  not  inaptly  drawn, 
that  she  possessed  one  at  least  of  the 
characters  of  the  virtuous  woman, 
viz.  that  '  she  sought  wool  and  flax, 
and  wrought  willingly  with  her 
hands,'  Prov.  31.  13,  and  perhaps,  at 
this  time,  supported  herself  in  a  way 
of  honest  industry. 

7.  Unto  the  fords.  Heb.  ^5 
ri1^n3)?2n  al  hammaberoth,  at  the  pas- 
sages, or  crossing-places  ;  whether 
such  places  were  crossed  by  boats,  or 
bridges,  or  fording.  Probably  there 
were  several  such  places,  and  the 
pursuers   may  have   divided  them- 


36 


JOSHUA, 


[B.  C.  145L 


8  IT  And  before  tliey  were  laid 
down,  she  came  up  unto  them 
upcai  the  roof ; 

And  she  said  unto  the  men, 
I  know  that  the  Lord  hath  giv- 
en you  the  land,  and  that  ^your 
terror  is  fallen  upon  us,  and  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
faint  because  of  you. 


fr  Gen.  3u. 
and  11.  2&. 


Exod.  23.  27.     Deut.  2.  25, 


selves  into  different  companies,  and 
directed  their  course  to  each  of  them. 
- — -IT  Shut  the  gate.  Doubtless  with 
especial  care,  and  perhaps  setting  an 
extra  guard,  both  to  bar  out  enemies 
that  might  be  lurking  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  Id  prevent  the  escape 
of  the  spies,  if  perchance  they  still 
remained  in  the  city. 

9 .  I  knoiv  that  the  Lord  hath  given, 
&c.  I  know  and  am  assured  ;  I  am 
perfectly  satisfied;  I  have  not  a  doubt. 
An  emphatic  declaration  implying 
much  more  than  a  shrewd  conjec- 
ture or  strong  suspicion  from  exist- 
ing circumstances  that  such  woukl 
be  the  result.  The  words  are  ex- 
pressive of  the  strength  of  her  faith. 
The  sources  from  which  she  had  ob- 
tained this  information  and  assurance 
are  sufficiently  detailed  in  what  fol- 
lows,   V.    9-12. IF    Your    terror. 

The  dread  of  you.     See  Ex.  23.  27 ; 

34.  24 ;  Deut.  11.  25  ;  28.  7. ^  All 

the  inhabitants  of  the  land  faint. 
Heb.  '  are  melted,  dissolved,  lique- 
fied.' Precisely  the  same  expression 
is  used,  Ex.  15.  15,  in  reference  to 
this  very  event :  '  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Canaan  shall  melt  away.'  It  ex- 
presses, in  the  strongest  manner,  the 
efiect  of  the  general  consternation 
which  had  seized  upon  the  devoted 
nations,  in  view  of  contending  with 


10  For  we  have  heard  how 
the  Lord  ^  dried  up  the  waters 
of  the  Red  sea  for  you,  when  ye 
came  out  of  Egypt ;  and  '  what 
ye  did  unto  the  two  kings  of  the 
Amorites  that  were  on  the  other 
side  Jordan,  Sihon  and  Og, 
whom  ye  utterly  destroyed. 


h  Exod.  14.  21.      ch.  4.  23. 
24,  34.  35. 


Kum.  2L 


such  a  powerful  foe— one  which  was 
under  the  special  conduct  and  pro- 
tection of  an  Almighty  arm.  Their 
veiy  hearts  quailed  before  the  ap- 
proach of  Israel,  in  a  certain  fearful 
looking  for  of  judgment  and  ven- 
geance at  their  hands.  It  was  pro- 
bably something  more  than  a  mere 
natural  dread  of  a  formidable  enemy  \ 
it  was  a  supernatural  panic  sent  upon 
their  spirits  by  the  immediate  power 
of  God,  a  fearful  presage  of  the  de- 
struction that  awaited  them. 

10.  For  we  ha'Ve  heard,  &c.  The 
first  of  these  events,  the  drying  up  of 
the  Red  Sea,  had  happened  forty 
years  before,  and  though  it  had  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression  at  the  time, 
on  all  the  surrounding  nations,  yet  in 
the  lapse  of  that  long  interval,  which 
\vas  a  season  granted  them  fur  repen- 
tance, it  is  not  unlikely  that  their 
alarm  had  in  great  measure  died 
away,  till  now  it  was  revived  again 
by  their  nearer  approach,  and  by  the 
recent  overthroAv  of  the  two  Amor- 
itish  kings.  The  convictions  of  sin- 
ners are  apt  to  come  and  go  with  the 
alarming  or  afflictive  dispensations 
of  God's  providence.  So  it  is  said  of 
Israel  of  old,  Ps.  78.  34-37,  '  when 
he  slew  them,  then  they  sought  him: 
and  they  returned  (changed  their 
mind)  and  inquired  early  after  God. 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


37 


11  And  as  soon  as  we  had 
"  heard  these  things^  '  our  hearts 
did  melt,  neither  did  there  re- 
main any  more  courage  in  any 
man,  because  of  you  :  for  ™  the 

k  Exod.  I5.  14,  15.  1  ch.  5.  1,  and  7,  5. 
Isa.  13.  7.     m  Deut.  4.  39. 

Nev^ertheless,  they  did  flatter  him 
with  their  mouth,  and  they  lied  unto 
him  with  their  tongues ;  for  their 
heart  was  not  right  with  him,  neither 
were  they  steadfast  in  his  cov^enant.' 
11.  And  a$  soon  as  we  had  heard 
these  things,  our  heart  did  melt.  Heb. 
1313^  D?Q^1  5>?2m31  vannishma  va- 
yimmas  levdvenu,  and  vje  heard,  and 
our  heart  did  melt ;  sjDoken  as  if  the 
whole  nation  were  one  person,  hav- 
Ing  one  heart.  The  original  word 
for  'melt,' though  not  precisely  the 
same  with  that  in  v^  9,  is  yet  of  kin- 
dred import,  the  metaphor  being 
taken  from  the  melting  of  metals  be- 
fore the  fire. U  Neither  did  there 

remain  any  more  courage  in  any  man. 

Heb.  r:->i^3  m-i  115  n^p  ^V\  veto 

kamah  od  ruah  haish,  n^itJcer  any 
more  stood  there  up  spirit  in  any  man. 
That  is,  no  man's  spirit  was  erect 
within  him ;  every  one's  courage 
failed,  and  he  became  cowering  and 

faint-hearted. H  Because  of  you. 

Heb.  DD"'35?D  mippenekem,  from  be- 
fore you ;  i.  e.  by  reason  of  your  pre- 
sence ;  a  frequent  idiom  of  the  He- 
brew.  IT  He  is    God    in    heaven 

above,  and  in  earth  beneath.  As 
much  as  to  say,  '  The  Lord  your  God 
is  both  omnipotent  and  omnipresent ;' 
a  remarkable  confession  considering 
the  previous  ignorance  and  darkness 
of  her  mind.  It  was  at  once  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  true  God,  and 
a  condemnation  of  the  false  gods  and 
idolatrous  worsiiip  of  her  country- 
4 


Lord  your  God,  he  is  God  in 
heaven  above,  and  in  earth  be- 
neath. 

12  Now  therefore,  I  pray  you, 
"  swear  unto  me  by  the  Lord, 
since  I  have  showed  you  kind- 

n  See  1  Sam.  20.  14,  15,  17. 

men,  and  showed  a  supernatural  in- 
fluence  of  God  upon  her  soul.  He 
can  cause  the  rays  of  truth  to  pene- 
trate the  thickest  shades  of  that  moral 
midnight  which  broods  over  the  minds 
of  the  mienlightened  heathen,  though 
we  have  no  evidence  that  he  ever 
does  this,  except  in  connexion  with 
some  kind  of  external  instrumentalit}'-. 
12.  Sicear  unto  me  by  the  Lord. 
This  proposal  still  further  displays 
the  sincerity  and  the  strength  of  her 
faith.  While  the  people  of  Israel, 
with  the  miracles  of  the  Divine  power 
constantly  before  their  eyes,  were  in- 
cessantly prone  to  stagger  at  the 
promises  and  give  way  to  unbelief, 
she.  upon  the  mere  hearsay  report  of 
these  wonders,  is  so  firmly  persuaded 
of  their  truth,  that  she  desires  to  enter 
covenant  with  the  spies  for  her  own 
preservation  and  that  of  her  family. 
Though  they  were  now  in  perilous 
circumstances,  shut  up  within  the 
walls  of  Jericho,  and  surrounded  by 
enemies,  yet  she  treats  with  them  as 
if  they  had  already  stormed  the  city, 
and  had  the  power  of  life  and  death 
in  their  hands.  So  earnest  is  she  in 
this  matter,  that  she  would  have  them 
ratify  by  an  oath  their  agreement  to 
save  her.  In  like  manner,  a  deep- 
rooted  conviction  of  the  danger  hang- 
ing over  the  head  of  the  sinner  from 
the  curse  of  a  violated  law,  \vi\\ 
prompt  him  to  give  all  diligence  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  coma  and  lay 
hold  on  eternal  life,  by  joining  him- 


SB 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


ness,  that  ye  ^\'ill  also  show 
kindness  unto "  my  father's  house, 
and  Pgive  me  a  true  token  : 

13  And  that  ye  will  save  alive 
my  father,  and  my  mother,  and 
my  brethren,  and  my  sisters,  and 

o  See  1  Tim.  5.  8.    P  ver.  18. 

self  to  God  and  his  people. ^Have 

shoii-ed  yoii  kindyicss.  Heb.  "^riT^J 
TClri  'U'212'S  asithi  immakem  hesed, 
hove  done  you  kindness;  and  so  in 
the  next  clause,  '  That  ye  will  also 

do  kindness,'  &c. '^Give  me  a  true 

token.  Heb.  n^^it  mti  oth  emeth.  a  sign 
or  token  of  truth,  vrell  rendered  ac- 
cording to  the  sense  ;  *a  true  token,' 
i.  e.  a  token  which  shall  not  deceive 
me  ;  one  which  I  may  produce  as  a 
witness  of  this  agreement ;  one  on 
the  sight  of  which  tiie  Israelites  shall 
forbear  to  hurt  either  me  or  mine. 

13.  That  ye  will  save  alive  my  fa- 
ther and  my  mother.  Heb.  Ctl'i'^rin 
ha'hayithem,  vsill  make  oi-  cause  to  live. 
On  the  peculiar  import  of  this  word, 
see  Note  on  ch.  6.  25.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  she  makes  no  mention  of 
her  husband,  from  which  it  is  to  be 
inferred  that  she  Avas  now  a  widow, 
or  had  never  been  married.  In  ei- 
ther case,  the  fact  militates  altogether 
against  the  hypothesis  of  her  being 
a  hostess,  for  nothing  could  be  more 
abhorrent  from  Eastern  notions  and 
usages,  than  a  single  woman's  fol- 
lowing such  an  occupation,  even  had 
the  occupation  been  known  among 
them.  But  a  practical  remark  of 
more  importance  suggests  itself  in 
this  connexion.  The  same  feelings 
which  warn  us  to  flee  the  coming 
wrath  and  make  our  own  peace  with 
God.  will  also  incite  us  to  do  all  in 
our  power  to  promote  the  salvation 
of  our  families  and  kindred,  by  bring- 


all  that  they  have,  and  delivei 
our  lives  from  death. 

14  And  the  men  ansv»-ered  her, 
Our  life  for  yours,  if  ye  utter 
not  this  our  business.  And  it 
shall  be,  when  the  Lord  hath 


ing  them  also  within  the  bonds  of  the 
covenant.  We  shall  feel  that  our 
work  is  but  half  done  w-hen  our  ou-n 
souls  are  safe. 

14.  Our  life  for  yours.  Heb. 
ri1?2i  t5^r:nn  irj-i:3  uaphshenu  tah- 
tekem  lamoth,  let  oiir  soul  be  to  die  in- 
stead of  you  {2)1.)  That  is,  w^e  pawn 
and  pledge  our  lives  for  the  security 
of  yours,  and  those  of  your  relatives ; 
may  our  lives  be  destroyed,  if  we  suf- 
fer yours  to  be  injured.  This  lan- 
guage affords  no  warrant  for  those 
thoughtless  imprecations  which  are 
often  introduced  in  discourse  in  or- 
der to  give  more  emphasis  to  the 
speaker's  promises  or  declarations. 

IT//  ye  utter  not   this   our  busi- 

ness.  That  is,  if  neither  thou  nor 
any  of  thy  kindred  ('  ye  ')  betray  us 
when  we  are  gone,  or  divulge  this 
agreement,  so  that  others  may  avail 
themselves  of  its  condi.ions.  '  They 
that  will  be  conscientious  in  keeping 
their  promises,  will  be  cautious  in 
making  them,  and  may  perhaps  in- 
sert  conditions    w^hich    others   will 

think  frivolous.'  Henry. "IF  And  it 

shall  be,  &c.  The  preceding  clause 
is  properly  pareniheiical,  and  these 
words  should  be  read  in  immediate 
connexion  with  what  goes  before, 
transl  ting  '  th  t'  instead  of '  and  '— 
'  Our  life  for  j-ours  (if  ye  litter  not 
this  ou"  brsiiK.ss\  that  it  shall  be, 
when  the  Lord  hath  given,'  &c.  The 
present  mode  of  punctuation  gives  a 
wrong,  or  at  least  an  inadequate  view 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


given  us  the  land,  that  '^  we  will 
degA  kindly  and  truly  with  thee. 
\^2^  Then  she  "  let  them  down 
by  a  cord  through  the  window  : 
for  her  house  was  upon  the 
town-wallj  and  she  dwelt  upon 
the  wall. 

16  And  she  said  unto  them, 
Get  you  to  the  mountain,  lest 
the  pursuers  meet  you ;  and 
hide     yourselves     there    three 

q  Jndg.  1.  21.    Matt.  5.  7.      r  Acts  9.  25. 

of  the  precise  scope  of  the  passage 
imder  consideration. 
(  l5.  /I%e7t  she  let  them  doivn,  &c. 
Tlraf  is,  by  the  help  of  her  friends  or 
domestics.  In  like  manner  Paul 
made  his  escape  from  Damascus,  2 
Cor.  11.  33.  The  conversation  men- 
tioned in  the  sttceeedin^  verses-»pr_ 
ipeafTTo't^vela^^fr^Tic^^prevwuslo 
their  being  let  down  from  the  win- 

P-4fi.wn^which  reason  Adam  Clarke 
remarks,  that  the  natuial_pLace__of. 
this  verse  is  immediately  after  the 

^_^first  clause  of  v.  21.  Itis  very  un- 
likely that  she  would  dismiss"  tEem 
before"ThF~abu  v  e-merntoned  "condi- 
tionTwerg^^ieed  upon  •  urrMTsli e 
would  discourse  wTth  them  of  matters 
of  so  much  moment  aftey'  they  were 
let  down,  and  were  standing  under 
the  window,  where  others  might 
overhear  them ;  or  that  she  would 
commence  speaking  to  them  in  her 
chamber,  and  not  finish  till  they  had 
left  the  house. 

16.  Get  you  to  the  mountain.  Heb. 
15^  \^'T\\^  haharah  leho,  mountoAn- 
wards  go  ye.  That  is.  to  the  moun- 
tainous region  in  the  vicinity ;  not  to 
any  particular  mountain.  This  is  an 
extremely  frequent  sense  of  the  w^ord 
*  mountain  '  in  Scripture.  The  Gr. 
has  here  tfj  tt\v  6^£ivf\v^  to  the  moun- 


days,  until  the  pursuers  be  re- 
turned :  and  afterward  may  ye 


2a-y:our  way 

\17  An^ 


d  the  men  said  unto  her, 
\Ve  will  be  ^  blameless  of  this 
thine  oath  which  thou  hast  made 
us-s(wear. 

JSj^  Behold,  ivhen  we  come 
info  the  land,  thou  shalt  bind 
this  line  of  scarlet  thread  in  the 
window  which  thou  didst  let  us 

s  Exod.  20.  7.    t  ver.  12. 


tainous  region.  Jericho,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  encompassed  by  a  range  of 
high  hills.  In  some  of  the  caves  of 
these  they  might  conceal  themselves 
for  the  time  specified. 
^  177?  We  vnll  be  blameless  of  this  thine 
outrk^  It  shall  not  be  our  fault  if  the 
said  oath  be  not  kept,  provided  the 
annexed  conditions  be  punctually  ob- 
served on  thy  part.  We  w^ill  be  free 
from  the  reproach  of  being  unfaithful 
to  our  engagements.  Tiiesg_^_condi- 
tion s  thgx .gQ. on  |o  state  in  the  next 

(T8.V  This  line  of  scarlet  thread. 
RalKer  '  this  cord,'  i.  e.  a  line  or  cord, 
consisting  of  such  a  number  of 
threads  or  braids,  that  when  twisted 
together,  they  should  be  capable  of 
sustaining  the  weight  of  a  man's 
body  •,  for  it  seems  to  have  been  the 
very  same  cord  with  which  they 
were  let  down  from  the  window. 
This  was  to  be  a  mark  upon  the 
house,  of  which  the  spies  would  in- 
form the  camp  of  Israel^  so  that  no 
soldier,  however  fierce  and  eager  he 
might  be  in'the  work  of  destruction, 
should  offer  any  violence  to  the  place 
thus  distinguished.  It  answered, 
therefore,  the  same  purpose  with  the 
blood  sprinkled  upon  the  door-posts 
in  Egypt,  which  secured  the  first-bom 


40 


JOSHUA 


[B.  C.  1451 


down  by  :  "  and  thou  shalt  bring 
thy  father,  and  thy  mother,  and 
thy  brethren,  and  ail  thy  Other's 
household  home  unto  thee. 

19  And  it  shall  be,  that  who- 
soever shall  go  out  of  the  doors 
of  thy  house  into  the  street,  his 
blood  shall  be  upon  his  head,  and 
we  will  be  guiltless  :  and  whoso- 
ever shall  be  with  thee  in  the 
house,  ""his  blood  shall  be  on  our 
head,  if  any  hand  be  upon  him. 

20  And  if  thou  utter  this  our 
business,  then  we  will  be  quit 

u  ch.,6.  23.    X  Matt.  27.  25. 


from  the  destroyingangel. IT  Thou 

shalt  bring  thy  father  and  thy  mother, 
&c.  Heb.  ""SDI^n  t^.a$phi,  thou  shalt 
bring  together,  assemble.  In  no  other 
way  could  Rahab's  kindred  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  who  were  to 
be  devoted  to  the  sword.  If  they 
M^ould  not  '  perish  with  them  that  be- 
Heved  not,'  they  must  convey  them- 
selves to  the  only  place  of  safety.  If 
any  of  them  had  been  met  in  the 
streets  by  the  slaughtering  Israelites, 
it  would  have  availed  them  nothing 
to  say,  '■  We  belong  to  the  house  of 
Rahab.'  The  answer  w^ould  be,  '  If 
you  belong  to  the  house,  why  are  you 
not  in  the  house  1  We  know  you 
not.'  So  those  who  professedly  be- 
long to  the  church  of  Christ,  if  they 
would  be  saved,  must  keep  close  to 
the  society  of  the  faithful.  If  they 
are  found  mingled  with  the  world  in 
spirit  and  pursuit,  they  have  reason 
to  fear  being  overwhelmed  in  its  de- 
struction. 

19.  His  blood  shall  be  upon  his  head. 
The  guilt  of  his  blood-shedding  shall 
rest  wholly  upon  himself  He  shall 
have  no  one  else  to  blame.    He  has 


of  thine  oath  which  thou  hast 
made  us  to  swear. 

21  And  she  said,  According 
unto  your  words,  so  be  it.  And 
she  sent  them  away,  and  they 
departed  :  and  she  bound  the 
sca^et  line  in  the  window. 
\22jAnd  they  went,  and  came 
unto  the  mountain,  and  abode 
there  three  days,  until  the  pur- 
suers were  returned :  and  the 
pursuers  sought  them  throughout 
all  the  way,  but  found  thein  not. 

23  ?r  So  the  two  men  returned, 
and  descended  from  the  moun- 


failed  to  perform  the  conditions  of 
the  covenant,  and  so  must  suffer  for 

it. IT  If  any  hand  be  upon  him. 

That  iS;  so  as  to  slay  him.  See  a 
like  phraseology,  Deut.  17.  7.  Est. 
6.  2.    Job.  1.  12. 

21.  According  to  your  v:ords  so  be 
it.  1  readily  agree  to  the  terms ; 
they  are  reasonable,  and  I  have  no- 
thing to  say  against  them. fT  And 

she  bound  the  scarlet  line  in  tJie  win- 
dou\  Probably  not  immediately,  for 
fear  of  excn'ling  suspicion,  but  in  sea- 
son to  avail  herself  of   the  benefit 

(^  '2%)Abode  there  three  days.  Not 
three  entire  days,  but  one  whole  day 
and  part  of  two  others.  They  were 
sent  out  on  the  sixth  day  of  the  month 
Nisan,  and  escaped  from  Jericho  the 
same  night.  The  seventh  day  they 
spent  in  the  mountains.  On  the 
eighth  they  returned  to  the  camp. 
These  three  days  are  reckoned  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  three  days  of  our 
Lord's  burial.     Matt.  27.  64. 

23.  Passed    over.      Over    Jordan. 

If  Told  him  all  things  that  befel 

them.      Heb.  'all  things  that  found 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


41 


tain,  and  passed  over,  and  came 
to  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  and 
told  him  all  things  that  befel 
them  : 

24  And  they  said  unto  Joshua, 
Truly  ^'  the  Lord  hath  delivered 
into  our  hands  all  the  land ;  for 
even  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country  do  faint  because  of  us. 


A 


CHAPTER  III. 
ND  Joshua  rose    early  in 
the  morning  ;  and  they  re- 

y  Exod.  23.  31.    ch.  6.  2,  and  21.  44. 

them.'  They  probably  made  their 
report  to  Joshua  alone,  or  to  him  in 
company  with  the  elders,  without 
who-e  concurrence  no  matter  of  im- 
portance seems  to  have  been  con- 
certed or  undertaken. 

24.  Do  famt  bemuse  of  us.  Heb. 
'  are  melted  before  our  faces.'  From 
Ihis  they  drew  the  assured  conclu- 
sion, that  God  was  about  to  deliver 
the  country  into  their  hands.  Those 
that  were  then  deprived  of  their  cour- 
age, would  soon  be  deprived  of  their 
possessions.  '  Sinners'  frights  are 
sometimes  sure  presages  of  their 
faW— Henry. 


CHAPTER  III 

1.  JosJma  rose  early  in  the  mora- 
ing.  That  is,  doubtless,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  third  or  fourth  day  after 
the  proclamation  mentioned,  ch.  1. 11. 
Whether  the  spies  had  at  this  time 
returned  or  not  is  uncertain,  though 

most   probable   that    they  had. 

IF  Lodged  there  before  they  passed  over. 
That  is,  for  one  night.  It  would  be 
more  convenient  for  the  congrega- 
tion to  pass  over  in  the  day-time ;  the 
miracle   to    be   wrought  would    be 

more  conspicuous ;  and  a  greater  ter- 

4- 


moved  "  from  Shittim,  and  came 
to  Jordan,  he  and  all  the  child- 
ren of  Israel,  and  lodged  there 
before  they  passed  over. 

2  And  it  came  to  pass  ^  after 
three  days,  that  the  officers 
went  through  the  host ; 

3  And  they  commanded  the 
people,  saying,  "  When  ye  see 
the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord  your  God,  '^  and  the 
priests   the  Levites  bearing  it, 

a  ch.  2. 1.  b  ch.  1.  10.  11.  c  See  Num. 
10.  33.    d  Deut.  31.  9,  2-5. 


ror  would  be  struck  into  the  minds 
of  the  Canaanites.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  the  Israelites  were  in- 
formed of  the  ma7iner  in  which  they 
M^ere  to  cross  the  river,  yet  they  went 
forward  in  faith,  being  assured  that 
they  should  pass  it,  ch.  1.  11.  Duty 
often  calls  us  to  take  one  step  with- 
out knowing  how  we  shall  take  the 
next ;  but  if  brought  thus  far  by  the 
leadings  of  Providence,  and  while 
engaged  in  his  service,  we  may  safe- 
ly leave  the  event  to  him.  He  will 
cleave  the  flood  or  the  rock  rather 
than  that  the  way  of  his  servants 
shoidd  be  obstructed. 

2.  It  came  to  pass  after  three  days. 
In  exact  fulfilment  of  Joshua's  de- 
claration, ch.  1.  10,  11. 

3.  ^Commanded  the  people,  &c.  In 
the  name  and  by  the  authority  of 
Joshua,  not  of  their  own  motion.  It 
is  not  unlikely  that  there  is  some- 
thing of  a  transposition  here,  and  that 
the  portion  from  v.  7  to  14  properly 

belongs  to  this  place. IF  The  priests 

the  Levites  bearing  it.  The  priests 
who  are  Levites.  who  belong  to  the 
tribs  of  Levi.  Although  it  was  ordi- 
narily the  duty  of  the  sons  of  Kohath, 
who  were  merely  Levites  and  not 


42 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451, 


then  ye  shall  remove  from  your 
place,  and  go  after  it. 

4  "  Yet  there  shall  be  a  space 
between  you  and  it,  about  two 
thousand  cubits  by  measure  : 
come  not  near  unto  it,  that  ye 
may  know  the  way  by  which 

e  Exod.  19.  12. 

priests,  to  bear  the  ark,  Num.  4.  15, 
yet  it  appears  that  on  solemn  occa- 
sions this  arrangement  might  be  de- 
parted from,  and  the  office  performed 
by  the  priests,  Josh.  6.  6.  The  same 
measure  was  adopted  when  the  ark 
was  carried  round  Jericho — when 
Zadok  and  Abiaihar  brought  it  back 
to  Jerusalem,  at  the  time  that  David 
fled  from  Absalom,  2  Sam.  15.  29,— 
and  when  it  was  lodged  in  the  tem- 
ple of  Solomon.  1  Kings  8.  6  j  the 
Levites  not  being  permitted  to  enter 

the    sanctuary. IT    Remove  from 

i/our  place.  That  is,  break  up  from 
your  encampment,  leave  your  tents, 

commence  your  march,  v.   14. 

IT  Go  after  it.  Follow  it.  Go  in  the 
rear  of  it.  Hitherto,  under  the  con- 
duct of  Moses,  the  ark  had  held  a 
diiTerent  position.  It  was  stationed 
in  the  cenre  while  the  host  was  en- 
camped, and  borne  in  the  middle  of 
the  immense  procession  when  it  set 
forward.  But  they  then  had  the  pil- 
lar of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by 
night  to  precede  them.  Now  the 
cloud  is  removed,  and  the  ark  is 
transferred  to  the  vanguard  of  the 
army,  to  go  before. 

4.  There  shall  be  a  space — about 
tiL-o  thousand  cubits.  Two  thousand 
cubits  amounted  to  about  one  thou- 
sand yards,  or  three  qucriers  of  a 
mile,  and  this  space  was  to  intervene 
between  them  and  the  ark,  in  order 
that  they  might  be  impressed  with  a 


ye   must  go ;  for  ye   have  not 
passed  this  way  hereiolbre. 

5  And  Joshua  said  unto  the 
people,  'Sanctify  yourselves: 
tor  to-morrow  the  Lord  will  do 
wonders  among  you. 

f  Exod.  19.  10,  14,  15.  Lev.  20.  7.  Num. 
11.18.     ch.7. 13.     1  Sam.  16. 15.    Joel  2. 16. 


becoming  awe  and  reverence  of  the 
symbol  of  the  Divine  presence.  They 
would  see,  too,  by  this  means,  that  in- 
stead of  their  protecting  it,  they  owed 
all  their  protection  to  it.  Another 
reason  is  expressed  in  the  words  im- 
mediately following. ^  That  ye 

may  knoiv  the  u-a'y  by  which  ye  must 
go.  The  ark  M'as  to  be  their  pilot 
across  the  waters,  and  by  being  ad- 
vanced so  far  ahead  of  them,  v\ould 
be  more  conspicuous  than  if  the  peo- 
ple had  gathered  and  pressed  close 
around  it.  As  it  was  put  at  such  a 
distance  before  them,  they  would  all 
have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it,  and 
would  be  animated  by  the  sight. 
This  was  the  more  necessary,  as  the 
passage  of  the  Jordan  was  an  untrod- 
den way  to  them. IT  Ye  hate  not 

passed  this  way  heretofore.  Heb. 
6r:i"U  ^1?::t:^  mittcmol  shihhCm, 
since  yesterday  and  the  third  day  ; 
i.  e.  never  hitherto.  The  same  form 
of  expression  occurs.  Gen.  31.  2.  It 
is  perhaps  intimated,  moreover,  that 
they  were  now  to  cross  the  river,  not 
at  any  usual  fording  place,  but  at 
some  point  entirely  new,by  a  passage 
which  should  miraculously  open  be- 
fore them  as  the  priests  and  the  ark 
advanced. 

5.  And  Joshua  said  unto  the  people, 

Sanctify  yourselves.     Rather,    'had 

said,'  for  as  he  speaks  of  '  to-mor- 

j  row,'  the  charge  w^as  prcbally  giveo 

!  on  ihe  day  previous  to  the  one  no^v 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   III. 


43 


6  And  Joshua  spake  unto  the 
priests,  saying,  ^Take  up  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  and  pass 
over  before  the  people.  And 
they  took  up  the  ark  of  the  cov- 
enant, and  went  before  the  peo- 
ple. 

7  TTAnd  the  LoRd  said   unto 

s;  Nam.  4.  15. 


current,  on  which  they  were  passing 
over  Jordan.  The  command  now 
given  was  undoubtedly  of  the  same 
import  with  that  given  by  Moses,  on 
the  eve  of  the  delivery  of  the  law 
upon  mount  Sinai,  Ex.  19.  10-14. 
They  were  to  wash  their  persons  and 
their  garments,  and  to  abstain  from 
every  thing  that  might  indispose 
their  minds  to  a  serious  and  devout 
attention  to  the  miracle  about  to  be 
v.Tought  in  their  behalf  A  similar 
command  was  generally  given  on 
great  and  solemn  occasions.  Lev. 
20.  7,  8;  Nnm.  11.  18;  1  Sara.  16. 
5;  Joel  2.  16.  The  special  manifes- 
tations of  God's  presence  should  be 
awaited  by  his  people  in  a  posture  of 
deep  humiliation,  and  penitence,  and 
prayer,  and  by  diligent  efforts  to 
'  cleanse  themselves  from  all  filihi- 
ness  of  flesh  and  spirit.' 

6.  Take  up  the  ark  of  the  covenant, 
&c.  Joshua  in  giving  this  command 
is  not  to  be  considered  as  acting  on 
his  own  absolute  authority,  for  it 
would  have  been  too  ranch  for  hira 
to  assume  the  responsibility  of  chang- 
ing the  usual  order  of  march,  with- 
out a  Divine  direction.  He  was 
merely  the  organ  of  announcing  the 
will  of  God  in  respect  to  this  matter. 
He  obeyed  the  commands  of  Heaven 

as  the  priests  did  his. ^  They  took 

ttp  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  went 


Joshua,  This  day  will  I  begin  to 
*■  magnify  thee  in  the  sight  of  all 
Israel,  that  they  may  know  that 
'as  I  was  with  Moses,  .so  I  will 
be  with  thee. 

8  And  thou  shalt  command 
^  the  priests  that  bear  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  saying,  When 

h  ch.  4  14.  1  Chron.  29.  25.  2  Chron.  1 
1,    1  ch,  1.  5.    k  ver  3. 

before  the  people.  Heb.  15^11; "^1  va- 
yisu,  they  bore  up,  i.  e.  upon  their 
shoulders,  according  to  the  direction, 
Num.  7.  9.  'A  noble  defiance  of  the 
enemies  of  Israel  was  thus  given ; 
who  were  challenged  to  attack  the 
unarmed  priests,  or  to  attempt  to 
seize  the  unattended  ark.'     Scott. 

7.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua, 
&c.  Or,  '  for  the  Lord  had  said,'  as 
in  numberless  cases  elsewhere.  It 
seems  highly  probable  that  these 
words  were  spoken  to  Joshua  before 
the  preceding  charge  was  given  to 
the  people.  That  which  constitutes 
the  ground  or  reason  of  a  particular 
order  or  statement,  and  which  is 
properly  antecedent  to  it,  is  often  by 
the  sacred  writers  placed  last. — —IT 
This  day  tcill  I  begin  to  magnify 
thee,  &c.  To  make  thee  great,  to 
raise  thee  in  the  estimation  of  thy 
people,  to  confirm  thine  authority, 
and  to  clothe  thee  with  honor.  God 
had  before  put  distinguished  honor 
upon  Joshua  on  several  occasions, 
Ex.  24.  13 ;  Deut.  31. 7,  but  it  had  not 
been  in  so  public  and  solemn  a  man- 
ner ;  now  he  designs  to  magnifv  him 
as  the  successor  of  Moses  in  the  gov- 
ernment. He  was  to  be  the  visible 
instrument  of  working  a  mighty  mir- 
acle in  the  eyes  of  the  nation  ;  and 
from  his  circumstantially  foretelling 
how  the  waters  should  be  cut  off,  as 


44 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


ye  are  come  to  the  brink  of  the 
water  of  Jordan,  'ye  shall  stand 
still  in  Jordan. 

9  IF  And  Joshua  said  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  Come  hither, 
and  hear  the  words  of  the  Lord 
your  God. 

10  And  Joshua  said,  Hereby 
ye  shall  know  that  "'the  liv^ing 
God  is  among  you,  and  that  he 

1  ver.  17.  m  Deut.  5.  26.  1  Sam.  17.  26.  2 
Kings  19.  4.  Hosea  1.  10.  Matt.  16.  16.  I 
Thess.  1.  9. 


soon  as  the  feet  of  the  priests  should 
touch  them,  v.  13.  it  was  demonstrated 
that  the  secret  of  the  Lord  was  with 
him.  True  greatness  belongs  to  those 
with  whom  God  is,  whom  he  em- 
p]o\'s  in  his  service,  and  upon  whom 
his  blessing  rests.  The  honor  that 
comes  from  man  may  surround  one 
with  a  temporary  eclat,  but  let  those 
that  aspire  to  lasting  and  solid  dis- 
tinction seek  it  in  the  favor  of  God. 

8.  Ye  shall  stand  still  in  Jordan. 
They  were  fir.st  required  to  pause  on 
the  brink  of  the  stream,  till  the  chan- 
nel was  laid  dry,  and  then  they  seem 
to  have  adv^anced  and  took  their  sta- 
tion in  the  midst  of  it,  till  all  the 
people  had  pa.ssed  over.  As  the  en- 
tire bed  of  the  river  beloiu  the  resting 
point  of  the  ark  would  become  dry 
by  the  waters  running  off  towards 
the  Dead  Sea,  the  congregation 
might  pass  over  in  that  direction 
having  the  ark  on  their  right,  and 
keeping  at  the  prescribed  distance  of 
2,000  cubits. 

9.  Co7ne  hither.  Draw  nigh  to- 
wards me,  as  many  as  can  come 
within  hearing. 

10.  That  the  living  God  is  among 
you.  Not  a  dull,  senseless,  lifeless. 
inactive  deity,  like  the  gods  of  the 
heathen,  but  a  God  of  life,  power, 


will  without  fail "  drive  out  from 
before  you  the  Canaanites,  and 
the  Hittites,  and  the  Hivites, 
and  the  Perizzites,  and  the  Gir- 
gashites,  and  the  Amorites,  and 
the  Jebusites. 

1 1  Behold,  the  ark  of  the  cov- 
enant of  °the  Lord  of  all  the 
earth  passeth  over  before  you 
into  Jordan. 

n  Ex.  33.  2.  Deut.  7.  1.  Ps.  44.  2.  o  ver. 
13.    Mic.  4  13.    Zecli.  4.  14,  and  6.  5. 


and  energy,  able  to  work  for  you,  and 
to  put  to  confusion  all  your  enemies. 
11.  The  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord  of  all  the  earth.  The  original 
will  admit  of  being  rendered,  '  The 
ark  of  the  covenant,  even  the  Lord  of 
all  the  earth,'  and  as  the  Hebrew  ac- 
cents favor  this  sense,  it  is  adopted 
by  many  of  the  Jewish  commenta- 
tors, although  the  current  of  versions 
is  against  it.  Indeed  it  is  not  a  little 
remarkable  that  the  first  edition  of 
our  present  English  version  published 
in  IGll,  exhibits  this  very  rendering. 
It  was  al\erwards  altered,  but  at  what 
time,  by  what  authority,  or  for  what 
reasons,  it  is  now  impossible  to  deter- 
mine. This  usage,  it  is  contended 
by  Buxtorf  and  others,  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  this  passage.  In  repeated 
instances,  as  they  maintain,  the  ap- 
pellation '  Lord  '  is  bestowed  upon 
the  ark  of  the  covenant.  Thus  it  is 
said  the  address  is  to  the  ark.  Num. 
10.  35,  3G ;  '  And  it  came  to  pass 
when  the  ark  set  forward,  that  Mo- 
ses said,  Rise  up.  Lord,  and  let  thine 
enemies  be  scattered  ;  and  let  them 
that  hate  thee  flee  before  thee.  And 
when  it  rested,  he  said,  Return,  O 
Lord,  to  the  many  thousands  of  Isra- 
el.' So  also,  2  Sam.  6.  2,  '  And  Da- 
vid arose  and  went  with  all  the  peo- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   III. 


45 


12  Now  therefore  ""take  ye 
twelve  men  out  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel,  out  of  every  tribe  a  man. 

13  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
^  as  soon  as  the  soles  of  the  feet 
of  the  priests  that  bear  the  ark 
of  the  Lord,  ""  the  Lord  of  all 
the  earth,  shall  rest  in  the  wa- 
ters of  Jordan,  that  the  waters 
of  Jordan  shall  be  cut  off  from 
the  waters  that  come  down  from 
above ;  and  they  '  shall  stand 
upon  an  heap. 


P  ch.  4.  2.    q  ver.  15,  16.     r  ver.  11.    s  Ps 
73.  13,  and  114.  3. 


pie  that  were  with  him,  from  Baaie 
of  Judah,  to  bring  up  from  thence 
the  ark  of  God,  v:hose  name  is  called 
by  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts.' 
Comp.  Ex.  16.  33  ;  1  Sam.  4.  7.  Sach 
a  title,  however,  could  only  be  ap- 
plied on  the  ground  of  its  being  the 
visible  symbolof  the  Divine  presence, 
and  of  the  close  connexion  subsisting 
between  the  sign  and  the  thing  sig- 
nified. 

12.  Take  ye  twelve  men  out  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel.  The  object  of  this 
selection  is  afterwards  explained, 
ch.  4.  4,  5.  They  were  now  to  be 
chosen,  and  to  stand  ready  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning,  for  the  service  to 
which  they  were  set  apart. 

13.  That  bear  the  ark  of  the  Lord, 
the  Lord  of  all  the  earth.  The  Heb. 
here  exhibits  two  different  words  for 
*  Lord,'  the  first  mrT^  Yehovah^  the 
second  "^lli^  adon,  which  is  also  the 
word  occurring  v.  11.  This  seems 
to   countenance    the    idea   that    the 

ark  itself  is  called  by  that  title. 

IF  The  waters  of  Jordan  shall  be  cut 
^ff  ffonb  the  waters  that  come  down 
from  above.     More  correctly  render- 


14  IT  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  the  people  removed  from 
their  tents  to  pass  over  Jordan, 
and  the  priests  bearing  the  '  ark 
of  the  covenant  before  the  peo- 
ple ; 

15  And  as  they  that  bare  the 
ark  were  come  unto  Jordan,  and 
"  the  feet  of  the  priests  that  bare 
the  arkM-ere  dipped  in  the  brim 
of  the  water,  (for  -^  Jordan  over- 
flov/eth  all  his  banks  ^all  the 
time  of  harvest,) 

t  Acts  7.  45.  u  ver,  13.  x  1  Chron.  12. 
15.  Jer.  12.  5,  and  49.  19.  y  ch.  4.  18,  And 
5.  10, 12. 

ed,  '  the  waters  of  Jordan  shall  be 
cut  off,  even  the  waters  that  descend 
from  above ;'  but  whether  he  speaks 
m  these  words  of  the  mass  of  waters 
remaining  above  the  ark,  that  they 
were  to  be  cut  off  from  those  below, 
M'hich  would  be  speedily  drained  ofl^, 
and  leave  the  channel  bare ;  or  whe- 
ther the  '  waters  that  come  down 
from  above,'  mean  those  that  flowed 
downwards  from  the  point  where 
the  ark  stood  above^  while  the  resj 
stood  as  a  heap,  it  is  difficult  to  de- 
termine. Comparing  this,  however 
with  V.  1.6,  the  first  interpretation 
we  think  the  most  probable.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  intima- 
tion given  to  the  people  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  to  cross 
the  river,  unless  we  suppose  such  a 
transposition  as  we  have  hinted  at  in 
the  note  above,  on  v.  5. 

15.  Jordan  overfloweth  all  his  banks 
all  the  time  of  harvest.  That  is,  the 
time  of  the  barley  harvest ;  which  be- 
gan in  that  country  in  our  March  or 
April.  1  Chron.  12. 15.  Prof  Rob- 
inson remarks  that  he  could  find  no 
evidence  that  the  Jordan  ever  now 


46 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


16  That  the  waters  which 
came  down  from  above  stood 
and  rose  up  upon  an  heap  very 
far  from  the  city  Adam,  that  is 
beside  ^  Zaretan  ;  and  those  that 

z  1  Kings  4.  12,  and  7.  4G. 

overflows  its  banks  in  the  manner 
that  would  be  supposed  from  the  ren- 
dering of  this  passage  ;  and  he  adds, 
'  I  apprehend  that  even  the  ancient 
rise  of  the  river  has  been  greatly  ex- 
aggerated. The  sole  accoimts  we 
have  of  Ihe  annual  increase  of  its 
■waters  are  found  in  the  earlier  scrip- 
tural history  of  the  Israelites;  where, 
according  to  the  English  version,  the 
Jordan  is  said  to  "  overflow  all  its 
banks  "  in  the  first  month,  or  all  the 
time  of  harvest.  But  the  original 
Hebrew  expresses,  in  these  passages, 
nothing  more  than  that  the  Jordan 
"  was  full  (or  filled)  up  to  all  its 
banks,"  meaning  the  banks  of  its 
channel;  it  ran  with  full  banks,  or 
Avas  brim-fall.  Thus  understood,  the 
Biblical  account  corresponds  entirely 
to  what  we  find  to  be  the  case  at  the 
present  day.' — [Research.,  Vol.  II., 
p.  262).  This  annual  swelling  of 
the  waters  of  the  Jordan  arises  from 
the  melting  of  the  snows  upon  Mount 
Lebanon,  in  which  the  Jordan  takes 
its  rise.  It  probably  took  place  on 
this  occasion  just  before  Israel  was 
to  pass  over,  and  served  to  render  the 
miracle  far  more  stupendous  and  un- 
questionable. Indeed  we  may  sup- 
pose that  this  season  was  chosen 
expressly,  in  order  that  God  might 
have  the  better  opportunity  to  con- 
vince his  people  of  his  Almighty 
power;  that  they  were  under  his 
immediate  care  and  protection;  and 
that  they  might  never  cease  to  con- 
fide in  him  in  view  of  the  most  ap- 


came  down  ="  toward  the  sea  of 
the  plain  even  ^the  salt  sea, 
failed,  and  were  cut  off:  and 
the  people  passed  over  right 
against  Jericho. 

a  Deut.  3. 17.    b  Gen.  14.  3.     Num.  34.  3. 


palling  dangers.  '  Though  the  op- 
position giv^en  to  the  salvation  of 
God's  people  have  all  imaginable 
advantages,  yet  God  can  and  will 
conquer  it.' — Henry. 

16.  Stood  and  rose  up  tipona  heap. 
Being  checked  in  their  course  they 
continued  to  accumulate  and  swell 
higher  and  higher,  till  they  filled  up 
the  channel  to  a  great  distance  to- 
wards the  source  of  the  river.  Prob- 
ably another  miracle  was  wrought 
in  restraining  the  waters  thus  piled 
up  from  deluging  the  adjacent  coun- 
try.  ^  From  the  city  Adam,  that  is 

beside  Zaretan.  The  position  of 
these  cities  is  not  easily  ascertained. 
As  to  the  first,  nothing  is  known ; 
and  perhaps  it  was  even  then  so  ob- 
scure as  to  be  described  by  its  near- 
ness to  Zaretan,  a  place  of  more  no- 
toriety. This  we  learn  from  1  Kings 
4.  12,  was  situated  below  Jezreel, 
near  Belh-shean  or  Scythopolis,  and 
not  far  from  Succoth;  but  Succoth, 
as  appears  from  Gen.  33.  17;  Josh. 
13.  27,  lay  en  the  east  of  Jordan,  not 
far  from  the  lake  of  Gennesaret,  and 
somewhere  in  this  immediate  vicin- 
ity, doubtless,  was  Adam  situated. 
IT  Passed  over  right  against  Jeri- 
cho. It  is  probable  that  the  people 
crossed  the  river  at  what  was  after- 
wards called  Beth-abara,  or  honse  of 
passas^e,  which  seems  to  have  derived 
its  name  from  this  very  circumstance. 
It  was  here  that  John  baptized,  John 
1.  28,  and  that  Jesus,  as  well  as  Josh- 
ua, began  to  be  magnified. 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


47 


17  And  the  priests  that  bare 
the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord  stood  firm  on  dry  ground 
in  the  midst  of  Jordan,  "  and  all 
the  Israelites  passed  over  on 
dry  ground,  until  all  the  people 
were  passed  clean  over  Jordan. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

AND  it  came  to  pass,  when 
all  the  people  were  clean 
passed  '^  over  Jordan,  that  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Joshua,  saying, 
2  ^  Take  you  twelve  men  out 

c  See  Exod.  14.  29.  a  Deut.  27.  2.  ch. 
3.  17.     b  ch.  3. 12. 

17.  A7id  the  priesls — stood  Jinn  on 
dry  ground.  Stood  fixedly  and 
immovably  in  the  same  place  and 
posture,  neither  pressed  upon  by  the 
^vaters,  nor  sinking  in  the  mire,  nor 
shifJng  their  position.  It  is  proba- 
ble, too,  that  they  continued  bearing 
the  ark  on  their  shoulders  during  the 
whole  time  of  their  standing.  The 
miracle  recorded  in  this  chapter  was 
in  some  respects  more  striking  than 
that  which  marked  the  passage  of 
the  Red  Sea,  as  in  this  case  it  could 
not  be  pretended  that  the  water  had 
retired  from  any  natural  cause. 
There  was  here  neither  wind  nor 
tide,  to  the  agency  of  which  the 
effect  could  be  attributed ;  and  if  the 
river  was  actually  passed,  at  a  high 
stage  of  its  waters,  without  boats  or 
bridges,  the  evidence  of  the  miracle 
was  irresistible — the  current  must 
have  been  suspended  by  a  supernatu- 
ral power. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

2.  Take  you  twelve  men,  &c.  Heb. 
ti^  inp  ke/iu  lakcm,  take  ye  for  your- 
selves, pi.,  though  addressed  to  Josh- 


of  the  people,  out  of  every  tribe 
a  man, 

3  And  command  ye  them,  say- 
ing, Take  you  hence  out  of  the 
midst  of  Jordan,  out  of  the  place 
where  "the  priests'  feet  stood 
firm,  twelve  stones,  and  ye  shall 
carry  them  over  with  you,  and 
leave  them  in  "^the  lodging-place 
where  ye  shall  lodge  this  night. 

4  Then  Joshua  called  the 
twelve  men,  whom  he  had  pre- 
pared of  the  children  of  Israel, 
out  of  every  tribe  a  man  : 

«  ch.3.  13.    *l  ver.  19,20. 


ua  ;  an  usage  of  speech  founded  upon 
the  union  between  a  leader  or  ruler, 
and  his  people.  Nothing  would  ap- 
pear from  the  phraseology  iiself  to 
intimate  that  any  such  command  had 
been  before  given,  but  as  we  know 
there  had,  ch.  3.  12,  the  twelve  men 
here  spoken  of  are  to  be  understood 
of  those  already  chosen  to  this  service, 

3.  Command  ye  them.  Another 
instance  of  the  phraseology  ncticed 
above.  Joshua  is  addressed  con- 
jointly with  the  people,  or,  perhaps, 
rather  with  the  officers,  and  required 

to  give  the  annexed  order. *!iLeave 

them  in  the  lodging-place  ichere  ye 
shall  lodge  this  night.  This  was 
Gilgal,  as  appears  from  v.  19;  20,  a 
place  somewhat  more  than  six  miles 
from  the  river  Jordan. 

4.  Whom  he  had  prepared.  Whom 
he  had  before  chosen  and  appointed 
to  that  work,  with  a  command  that 
they  should  hold  themselves  in  read- 
iness for  it.  The  stones  were  prob- 
ably each  of  them  as  large  as  one 
man  could  conveniently  carry. 

5.  Pass  over  before  the  ark.  These 
twelve  men  had  probably  hitherto 


48 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


5  And  Joshua  said  unto  them, 
Pass  over  before  the  ark  of  the 
Lord  your  God  into  the  midst 
of  Jordan,  and  take  you  up  eve- 
rj"  man  of  you  a  stone  upon  his 
shoulder,  according  unto  the 
number  of  the  tribes  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel: 


remained,  from  motives  of  reverence, 
somewhat  behind  the  ark,  perhaps 
near  to  tlie  eastern  bank  of  the  river. 
They  are  now  commanded  to  ad- 
vance, and  picking  up  the  stones 
near  the  place  where  the  priests  stood, 
to  '  pass  over  before  the  ark,'  and 
thus  emerge  from  the  bed  of  Jordan, 
and  when  arrived  to  deposit  the 
stones  in  the  place  commanded. 
Otherwise  the  words  must  be  under- 
stood to  imply,  that  after  passing  over 
with  the  congregation,  the  twelve 
men  were  to  pass  back  again  to  the 
place  where  the  ark  stood;  and  thence 
transport  the  stones ;  which  we  can- 
not but  regard  as  a  violent  construc- 
tion. 

6.  That  this  may  be  a  sign  among 
you.  A  sign  that  shall  permanently 
remain  among  you;  a  monument  or 
memorial ;  a  conspicuous  object 
which  shall  be  a  standing  witness  of 
the  wonderful  event  that  has  this  day 
happened.  Heaps,  or  pillars  of  stone, 
in  commemoration  of  great  events, 
such  as  covenants,  victories,  &c., 
have  been  common  among  all  na- 
tions from  the  earliest  ages.  See  Gen. 
31.  46;  Ex.  24.  4.  In  the  present 
case,  though  there  was  no  inscription 
on  the  stones,  yet  from  the  number 
of  them,  and  from  the  place  where 
they  stood,  it  would  be  evident  that 
they  pointed  to  some  memorable 
transaction,  and  of  this  it  was  to  be 


6  That  this  may  be  a  sign 
among  you,  that  ^when  your 
children  ask  their  fathers  in 
tiine  to  come,  saying,*  What 
?nean  ye  by  these  stones  ? 

7  Then  ye  shall  answer  them, 
That  ^  the  waters  of  Jordan  were 

e  ver.  21.  Ex.  12.  26.  and  13.  14.  Dent.  6 
20.    Ps.  44.  1,  and  78,  3-6.     f  ch.  3.  13,  16. 

the  duty  of  each  generation  to  keep 
its  successors  informed.  It  would 
likewise  serve  as  a  standing  proof  in 
corroboration  of  the  matter  of  fact  to 
those  who  might,  in  after  ages,  ques- 
tion the  truth  of  the  written  history. 
The  record  of  this  great  event  might 
indeed  be  read  in  the  sacred  writings, 
but  God,  who  knows  the  frame  of  his 
creatures,  and  how  much  they  aro 
influenced  by  the  objects  of  sense, 
kindly  ordered  an  expedient  for  keep- 
ing it  in  more  lively  remembrance 
from  age  to  age.  So  he  has  provided 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper 
to  aid  our  understandings  and  affect 
our  hearts  by  sensible  symbols,  though 
the  same  great  truths  which  they  re- 
present are  plainly  delivered  in  words 

in  the  inspired  oracles. IT  mie.i 

your  children  ask,  &c.  Heb.  *^^ 
D5"'3i  '^1^5^'D"'  ki  yishalun  benekem, 
when  your  sons  ask;  i.  e-  your  de- 
scendants ;  not  little  children  merely, 
but  your  posterity  of  whatever  age 
Thus  *  children  of  Israel '  is  equiva- 
lent to  '  sons  of  Israel,  or  Israelites.' 

IT  l7i  time  to  come.      Heb.  *in?a 

mahar,  to-morrow,  often  used  in  th*; 
original  to  signify  indefinitely  all  fu- 
ture time.  Gen  30.  33.  In  like  man- 
ner '  yesterday  '  is  used  in  a  general 
sense  for  all  fast  time,  as  Heb.  13.  8, 
'Jesus   Christ,  the   same   yesterday.^ 

and  to-day,  and  forever.' IT  What 

mean  ye  by  these  stones?    Heb.  lib 


B.  C.  1451, ] 


CHAPTER   IV, 


49 


cut  off  before  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  ;  when  it 
passed  over  Jordan,  the  waters 
of  Jordan  were  cut  off:  and 
these  stones  shall  be  for  "  a  me- 
morial unto  the  children  of  Israel 
for  ever. 

8  And  the  children  of  Israel 
did  so  as  Joshua  commanded, 
and  took  up  twelve  stones  out 

g  Ex.  12.  14.    Numb.  16.  40. 


S-ii  iibi^tl  ti'^'2^^'n  mah  ha-ebdnim  kd- 
ellek  la/cim,  ichat  these  stones  to  yozi? 

7.  7%e?i  shall  ye  answer  them,  That 
the  waters,  &c.  This  clause,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  original,  requires  to 
be  supplied  thus,  '  Then  shall  ye  an- 
swer, These  stones  are  designed  to 
commemorate  the  fact  that  the  wa- 
ters,' &c.  Such  is  undoubtedly  the 
true  grammatical  dependence  of  the 

conjuncdon  that, ITOi?  off  before 

the  ark.  As  it  were,  at  the  sight  of 
it,  at  its  first  approach.  The  clause 
respecting  the  cutting  off  of  the  wa- 
ters of  Jordan  occurs  again  in  the 
same  words  towards  the  end  of  the 
verse,  to  intimate,  perhaps,  the  won- 
derful character  of  the  miracle,  and 
that  a  fact  of  such  a  stupendous  na- 
ture should  be  repeated  again  and 
again  in  the  hearing  of  those  who 
were  to  be  instructed. TF  A  memo- 
rial unto  the  children  of  Israel.  To 
them  particularly  and  primarily,  but 
not  exclusively;  for  the  monument 
was  calculated  to  be  a  witness  and  a 
standing  reproof  also  to  the  heathen 

nations  around. '^For  ever.    For 

an  indefinite  period  of  time  ;  as  long 
as  the  nation  should  end'ire. 

8.  The  children  of  Israel  did  so. 
That  is,  the  twelve  men,  who  acted 
as  the  representatives  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  children  of  Israel  and 

5 


of  the  midst  of  Jordan,  as  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Joshua,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  the 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  carried  them  over  with  them 
unto  the  place  where  they 
lodged,  and  laid  them  down 
there. 

9  And  Joshua  set  up  twelve 
stones  in  the  midst  of  Jordan,  in 


therefore  bear  their  name.     A  com- 
pany or  community  is  often  said  in 
j  the  Scriptures  to  do  that  which  is 
done  by  their  constituted  agents. 

9.  Joshua,  set  up  twelve  stones  in  the 
midst  of  Jordan.  As  it  is  evident 
from  the  connexion  that  this  was 
actually  done  by  the  twelve  selected 
persons  above  mentioned,  it  is  as- 
cribed to  Joshua  only  as  commanding 
and  superintending  it,  just  as  the 
building  of  the  temple  is  ascribed  to 
Solomon.  Two  sets  of  stones  there- 
fore were  erected  in  memory  of  this 
miraculous  passage,  one  at  Gilgal, 
the  oiher  in  the  bed  of  Jordan.  Should 
it  be  asked  how  the  latter  could  serve 
as  a  monument,  placed  as  they  were 
in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  lia- 
ble to  be  concealed  below  the  surface, 
we  answer,  that  as  nothing  is  said  of 
their  being  each  of  them,  like  the 
others,  of  a  size  suitable  for  one  man 
to  carry,  theymigl;t  have  been  vastly 
larger,  and  so  based  upon  a  lower 
heap  as  to  be  generally  visible,  and 
thus  indicate  the  very  spot  where  the 
priests  stood  with  the  ark  ;  for  it  is  to 
bs  remarked,  that  the  Jordan,  at  its 
ordinary  stages  is  not  a  deep  river, 
and  that  its  waters  are  remarkably 
clear  and  transparent,  so  that  an  ob- 
ject like  this  might  probably  always 
be  seen  except  in  the  time  of  a  high 


50 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


the  place  where  the  feet  of  the 
priests  which  bare  the  ark  of 
the  covenant  stood  :  and  they 
are  there  unto  tliis  day. 

IF  10  For  the  priests  which  bare 
the  ark  stood  in  the  midst  of 
Jordan,  until  every  thing  was 
finished  that  the  Lord  command- 
ed Joshua  to    speak   unto    the 


freshet.  From  the  native  force  of 
the  Heb.  term  for  '  set  np,'  which  is 
properly  to  'rear  up/  '  to  erect,'  i.  e. 
to  raise  to  a  considerable  height,  it 
may  be  reasonably  inferred  that  ihey 
were  placed  so  as  to  be  ordinarily 

visible. IT  la  the  place  where  the 

feet  of  the  priests — stood.  Heb.  VT\T\ 
Q"^2in  "lir^"!  '^'2)2  tahath  matztzab  ra- 
gle  hakkohayiim,  under  J,hc  standing- 
place  of  the  feet  of  the  priests.  It  was 
here  that  the  stones  were  to  be  erected 
but  from  whence  they  were  taken  is 
not  said.  From  aught  that  appears 
in  the  text  the}""  might  have  been 
gathered  in  the  adjacent  fields,  as 
some  commentators  have  imagined. 

\\And  they  are  there  unto  this  day. 

Either  the  words  of  Joshua,  who 
wrote  this  history  near  the  close  of 
his  life,  and  about  twenty  years  after 
the  event  occurred,  or  added  at  a 
subsequent  period  by  Samuel  or  Ezra, 
or  some  other  inspired  man  by  whom 
the  sacred  canon  was  revised. 

10.  According  to  all  that  Moses 
commanded  Joshua.  It  does  not  ap- 
pear that  Moses  any  where  gave 
Joshua  a  charge  respecting  this  pas- 
sage of  Israel  over  the  Jordan.  The 
words  therefore  are  to  be  understood 
of  the  general  instructions  given  him 
by  Moses,  requiring  him  to  follow 
the  Divine  conduct  in  all  particulars, 
as  made  known  to  him  through  the 


people,  according  to  all  that 
Moses  commanded  Joshua  :  and 
the  people  hasted  and  passed 
over. 

11  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
all  the  people  were  clean  passed 
over,  that  the  ark  of  the  Lord 
passed  over,  and  the  priests  in 
the  presence  of  the  people. 


agency  of  Eleazar  the  High  Priest, 
Num.  27.  21-23.     So  he  did  on  the 

present    occasion^ IT  The    people 

hasted  and  passed  over.  Perhaps  un- 
der some  apprehensions  that  the 
standing  mass  of  waters  on  their 
right  might  be  suifered  to  give  way 
while  they  were  crossing.  Even 
where  the  general  acting  of  faith  is 
strong,  the  weakness  of  nature  some- 
times causes  the  spirit  to  waver. — 
This  passage  of  the  Israeliles  through 
the  Jordan,  is  not  improperly  consid- 
ered as  an  emblem  of  the  Christian's 
transition  from  the  dreary  wilderness 
of  this  world  to  the  Canaan  that  is 
above.  "When  the  time  is  arrived 
for  passing  by  that  unknown,  untrod- 
den path,  we  are  apt  to  fear  lest  we 
should  sink  in  the  deep  waters,  and 
never  attain  the  wished  for  end.  But 
God  has  promised  to  be  with  us,  to 
make  'the  depths  of  the  sea  a  way 
for  the  ransomed  to  pass  over,'  and 
to  bring  us  in  safety  to  the  land  that 
floweth  with  milk  and  honey.  The 
ark  of  his  covenant  will  go  before, 
both  for  our  guidance  and  protection, 
and  under  its  conduct  we  may  cheer- 
fully bid  adieu  to  the  friends  who 
,<tand  Aveepii  g  on  the  bank. 

11.  I7i  the  presence  of  the  people. 
Who  stood  upon  the  bank  beholding 
wit'.i  admiration  end  awe  the  last  act 
of  this  great  miracle. 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


51 


12  And  ''  the  children  of  Reu- 
ben, and  the  children  of  Gad, 
and  hall  the  tribe  of  Manasseh, 
passed  over  armed  before  the 
children  of  Israel,  as  Moses 
spake  unto  them  : 

13  About  forty  thousand  pre- 
pared for  war,  passed  over  be- 
fore the  Lord  unto  battle,  to  the 
plains  of  Jericho. 

14  T"  On  that  day  the  Lord 
'  magnified  Joshua  in  the  sight 

h  Num.  32.  20,  27,  28.     i  ch.  3.  7. 


13.  Passed  over  armed  before  the. 
children  of  Israel.  The  original 
phrase  here  is  precisely  the  same 
wirh  that  rendered  in  the  preceding 
verse,  in '  the  presence  of,'  and,  as  we 
conceive,  does  not  clearly  intimate 
that  they  led  the  van,  for  the  order 
of  marching  of  the  different  tribes 
had  been  expressly  prescribsd  in  the 
wilderness,  Num.  10;  and  it  is  not 
probable  that  it  was  departed  from 
on  this  occasion.  According  to  this 
order  the  tribe  of  Judah  had  the 
precedence.  What  is  affirmed  of 
the  two  tribes  and  a  half  here,  we 
.suppose,  is,  that  in  pursuance  of  their 
promises,  ch.  1.  16-18,  they  passed 
over  ■  in  the  presence  '  of  their  breth- 
ren, who  were  thus  all  witnesses  to 
their  fidelity.  _ 

13.  Passed  over  before  the  Lord. 
That  is,  probably,  before  the  ark  of 
the  Lord,  the  symbol  of  the  Divine 
presence.  Otherwise  it  may  imply 
'  as  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,'  'reli- 
giously,' '  conscientiously.' 

14.  Magnified  Joshua.  Caused 
him  to  stand  high  in  the  esteem  and 
respect  of  the  people,  so  that  they 
henceforth  yielded  to  him  the  same 
reverential  fear  and  ready  obedience 
which  they  had  done  to  Moses.   God 


of  all  Israel,  and  they  feared 
him  as  they  feared  Moses,  all 
the  days  of  his  life. 

15  And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Joshua,  saying, 

16  Command  the  priests  that 
bear  ^  the  ark  of  the  testimony, 
that  they  come  up  out  of  Jordan. 

17  Joshua  therefore  command- 
ed the  priests,  saying,  Come  ye 
up  out  of  Jordan. 

18  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 

k  Exod.  25.  ]6,  22. 


now  fully  confirmed  his  authority, 
and  showed  that  He  was  with  him. 
That  honor  is  ever  most  to  be  desired 
which  is  the  result  of  a  strict,  con- 
scientious, and  uniform  observance 

of    all    the     Divine     precepts. 

IT  They  feared  him  as  they  feared 

Moses,  all  the  days  of  his  life.  The 
'  his  '  here  may  refer  either  to  Joshua 
or  to  Moses.  The  latter  is  most  ac- 
cordant with  the  Heb.  accents,  and 
It  avoids,  moreover,  a  certain  air  of 
incongruity  in  the  letter  of  the  text, 
as  if  the  Israelites  on  that  day  feared 
Joshua  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

15.  The  Lord  spake  unto  Joshua, 
saying.  This  may  be  rendered  '  had 
spoken,'  and  the  whole  paragraph, 
V.  15-19,  be  considered  as  a  detailed 
account  of  what  is  stated  more  gene- 
rally, V.  11.  These  verses  seem  de- 
signed to  acquaint  us  with  the  main 
ground  or  reason  to  which,  under 
God,  it  was  owing  that  Joshua  was 
so  signally  magnified  on  that  occa- 
sion. '  The  priests  did  not  quit  their 
station  till  Joshua,  who  had  com- 
manded them  thither,  ordered  them 
thence ;  nor  did  he  thus  order  them 
till  the  Lord  commanded  him :  so 
obedient  were  all  parties  to  the  word 
of  God.'     Scott. 


52 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


the  priests  that  bare  the  ark  of 
the  covenant  of  the  Lord  were 
come  up  out  of  the  midst  of 
Jordan,  and  the  soles  of  the 
priests'  feet  were  lifted  up  unto 
the  dry  land,  that  the  waters 
of  Jordan  returned  unto  their 
place,  'and  flowed  over  all  his 
banks,  as  they  did  before. 

19  TF  And  the  people  came  up 
out  of  Jordan  on  the  tenth  day 

1  ch.  3.  15. 


18.  The  soles  of  the  priests^  feet 
vjcre  lifted  up  unto  the  dry  land. 
Heb.  1pn3  nitteku,  were  plucked  up. 
As  upon  the  entrance  into  the  river, 
the  stream  was  cut  off  as  soon  as  the 
soles  of  the  priests'  feet  touched  the 
water,  ch.  3.  15,  so  now  as  soon  as 
they  touched  the  dry  land  it  again 
resumes  its  natural  course.  This 
would  make  it  evident  that  the  arrest 
of  the  river  was  the  effect  solely  of 
Divine  power,  and  not  owing  to  any 

secret    natural  cause. IT  Flowed 

over  all  his  banks  as  they  did  before. 
Heb.  fi^L'b^^  '^MZtQ  kithmul  shilshom, 
as  yesterday  and  the  third  day. 

19.  On  tlie  tenth  day  of  the  first 
month.  Thatis,  of  the  month  Nisan, 
just  forty  years,  lacking  five  days, 
after  their  departure  out  of  Egypt. 
This  was  four  days  before  the  an- 
nual feast  of  the  Passover,  and  on 
the  very  day  when  the  paschal  Lamb 
was  to  be  set  apart  for  this  purpose. 
Ex.  12.  3  ;  God  having  so  ordered  it 
in  his  providence,  that  their  entrance 
into  the  promised  land  should  coin- 
cide with  the  period  of  that  festival. 

IT  And  encamped  in  Gilgal.     In 

the  place  afterwards  called  Gilgal, 
ch.  5.  9,  for  here  the  name  is  given 
it  by  anticipation.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  there    was   either  citv   or 


of  the  first  month,  and  encamped 
™in  Gilgal,  in  the  east  border 
of  Jertcho. 

20  And  "  those  twelve  stones 
w  hich  they  took  out  of  Jordan, 
did  Joshua  pitch  in  Gilgal. 

21  And  he  spake  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  °  When 
your  children  shall  ask  their 
fathers  in  time  to  come,  saying, 
What  7]iean  these  stones  ? 

ra  ch.  5.  9.     n  ver.  3.     o  ver.  6. 


town  in  that  place  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Israelites.  It  was  situated  near 
the  Jordan,  on  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  plain  of  Jericho.  There  are 
at  present  no  certain  traces  of  the 
name  or  the  place  in  that  region. 

20.  Did  Joshua  pitch  in  Gilgal. 
Heb.  t'^pH  hekim,  erect,  rear  up.  A 
foundation  of  stone- work  or  a  mound 
of  earth,  was  probably  first  laid,  of 
considerable  height,  and  then  the 
twelve  stones  placed  on  the  top  of  it ; 
for  twelve  such  stones  as  a  man 
could  carry  six  miles  on  his  shoulder, 
could  scarcely  have  made  any  ob- 
servable pile  or  pillar  of  memorial ; 
but  erected  on  such  a  base  as  we  have 
supposed,  they  would  be  very  con- 
spicuous, and  strikingly  answer  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  designed. 

21.  Shall  ask — in  time  to  come. 
Heb.  ^n?3  mahar,  to-morrow.  See 
V.  6,  7.  From  their  number,  size, 
position,  &c.,  and  from  there  not 
being  any  others  near  them  of  the 
same  kind,  they  would  naturally  ex- 
cite inquiries,  '  How  came  these 
stones  here'?  What  is  meant  by 
them  V  This  would  afford  to  parent? 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  turn  ic 
account  the  inquisitiveness  of  their 
children,  to  make  them.eaily  ac- 
quainted with  the  wonderful  works 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   V. 


53 


22  Then  ye  shall  let  your 
children  know,  saying,  p  Israel 
came  over  this  Jordan  on  dry 
land, 

23  For  the  Lord  your  God 
dried  up  the  waters  of  Jordan 
from  before  you,  until  ye  were 
passed  over,  as  the  Lord  your 
God  did  to  the  Red  Sea,  '^  which 
he  dried  up  from  before  us,  until 
we  were  gone  over  : 

24  '  That  all  the  people  of  the 

Pch.  3.  17.    q  Exod.  14.21. 


of  God,  and  to  train  them  up  in  his 
fear.  We  should  encourage  young 
people  to  seek  instruction,  and  should 
be  glad  of  every  thing  that  may  afford 
us  an  occasion  of  making  known  to 
them  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love. 

22.  Israel  came  over  this  Jordan  on 
dry  land.  In  commemoration  of 
which  remarkable  fact,  these  stones 
are  placed  here. 

23.  For  the  Lord  your  God  dried 
up  the  waters  of  Jordan  from  before 
you.  The  parents  are  still  supposed 
to  be  speaking  to  their  children.  It 
is  remarkable  that  they  address  them 
as  if  they  were  living  and  present  at 
the  miraculous  passage  of  the  Jor- 
dan, whereas  they  then  existed  only 
in  the  loins  of  their  fathers.  But  it  is 
not  uncommon  for  the  sacred  writers 
to  speak  of  the  nation  of  Israel, 
through  every  period  of  its  existence, 
as  if  they  were  but  of  one  generation^ 
so  that  what  really  happened  to  those 
that  lived  at  one  age,  is  said  to  have 
happened  to  those  that  lived  at  ano- 
ther, perhaps  far  remote.  This  gives 
us  a  very  impressive  idea  of  the  light 
in  v/hich  God  viewed  that  people, 
viz.,  as  morally  one,  as  one  great  col- 
lective person  continually  subsisting. 

Thus  Ps.  &Q.  6,  the  writer  speaks  as 
5# 


earth  might  know  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  that  it  is  '  mighty : 
that  ye  might  'fear  the  Lord 
your  God  for  ever. 

CHAPTER  V. 

AND  it  came  to  pass,  when 
all  the  kings  of  the  Amo- 
rites  which  were  on  the  side  of 
Jordan    westward,   and   all  the 

r  1  Kings  8.  42,  43.  2  Kings  19.  19.  Ps. 
106.  8.  s  Ex.  15. 16.  1  Chron.  29.  12.  Ps. 
89.  13.  I  Ex.  14.  31.  Deut.  6.  2.  Ps.89.7. 
Jer.  10.  7. 


if  he  and  his  contemporaries  were 
personally  present  at  the  passage  of 
the  Red  Sea,  '  He  turned  the  sea  into 
dry  land:  they  went  through  the 
flood  on  foot ;  there  did  u-e  rejoice  in 
him^^  though  this  happened  ages  be- 
fore their  time.  So  also  our  Saviour 
speaks  as  if  the  Jews  of  his  day  were 
living  in  the  days  of  Moses,  John  6. 
32,  *  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Moses 
gave  xjou  not  that  bread  from  heaven.' 
On  the  same  principle  Joshua  speaks 

here. If    The  Red  Sea,  which  he 

dried  up  from  before  us.  This  is 
another  instance  of  the  usage  just 
adverted  to.  He  speaks  of  the  Red 
Sea's  being  dried  up  from  before  the 
people  whom  he  then  addressed, 
whereas  none  of  that  generation 
were  now  living  except  himself  and 
Caleb,  the  rest  of  them  having  per- 
ished in  the  wilderness  through  im- 
belief  and  rebellion.  It  is  also  to  be 
remarked,  that  this  passage  through 
the  Jordan  being  here  said  to  have 
been  accomplished  in  the  same  man- 
ner with  that  through  the  Red  Sea, 
the  inference  is  legitimate,  that  the 
waters  of  that  sea  were  actually 
divided  like  those  of  the  river,  and 
that  they  did  not  merely  retire  from 
the  shore,  as  some  have  supposed. 


54 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


kings  of  the  Canaanites  ""  which 
were  by  the  sea,  ^  heard  that  the 


a  Num.  13.  29.    b  Exod.  15.  14,  15. 
2.  9, 10, 11.    Ps.  48.  6.    Ezek.  21.  7. 


ch. 


CHAPTER  V. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass,  &c.  As  this 
verse  is  much  more  intimately  rela- 
ted to  what  goes  before  than  to  what 
follows,  it  would  probably  have  been 
better  to  have  joined  it  to  the  preced- 
ing chapter.  The  present  would 
then  have  commenced  wiih  an  en- 
tirely new  subject. IF  All  the  kings 

of  the  Amorites — and  of  the  Canaaii- 
ites.  As  the  whole  land  of  Canaan 
was  of  comparatively  small  extent, 
the  several  nations,  as  they  are  called, 
which  inhabited  it,  must  have  been 
mere  clans  or  hordes,  and  what  are 
termed  their  kiyigs  nothing  more  than 
petty  chieftains,  ruling  over  territo- 
ries scarcely  larger  than  the  coun- 
ties in  many  of  the  states  of  the 
American  union.  The  term  tmg, 
in  modern  usage,  conveys  the  idea 
of  a  power  and  dominion  altogether 
more  extensive  than  was  possessed 
by  these  petty  potentates.  The  Amo- 
rites and  the  Canaanites  here  men- 
tioned probably  stand  for  the  whole 
of  the  devoted  nations,  they  being 
specified  on  account  of  their  superi- 
ority to  the  rest  in  numbers,  power, 
and  courage.  The  nation  of  the 
Amorites  occupied  both  sides  of  the 
Jordan ;  two  of  their  kings,  Sihon 
and  Og,  had  already  been  slain  on 

the  eastern  side,  Deut.  4.  46,  47. 

Ti  Which  v:ere  by  the  sea.  The  Medi- 
terranean sea;  along  the  coasts  of 
which  the  Canaanilish  tribes,  pro- 
perly so  called,  were  spread.  This 
region  was  afterwards  known  by  the 
name  of  Phoenicia,  of  which  Tyre 
and  Sidon  were  the  principal  cities. 


Lord  had  dried  up  the  waters 
of  Jordan  from  before  the  child- 


ren  of 
passed 


Israel,   until   we 
over,   that   their 


were 
heart 


On  this  account  the  same  person  who 
is  called  '  a  woman  of  Canaan '  by 
Matthew,  15.  22,  is  called  by  Luke, 

7.26,  'a  Syro-Phoenician.' *![ Had 

dried  up  tJie  waters  of  Jordan. 
Which  they  regarded  as  the  natural 
bulwark  of  their  country,  one  too 
strong  for  the  enemy  to  break  through, 
especially  during  the  season  of  its 
annual  overflow.  It  should  seem 
that  the  Canaanites,  if  they  had  acted 
according  to  the  rules  of  war,  would 
have  opposed  the  Israelites  in  their 
passage.  But  the  destruction  of  Pha- 
raoh at  the  Red  Sea,  some  time  be- 
fore, and  the  recent  victories  over 
Sihon  and  Og,  had  spread  such  a 
panic  through  the  land,  that  they  did 
not  dare  to  avail  themselves  of  any 
supposed  advantage,  lest  they  should 
perish  after  their  example.  The 
ev^ent,  indeed,  shows  how  vain  any 
attempt  on  their  part  would  have 
been.  It  shows,  too,  that  when  the 
measure  of  any  people's  iniquities  is 
full,  they  shall  in  no  wise  escape  the 
vengeance  of  God.  Whatever  ob- 
stacles may  appear  to  lie  in  the  way, 
and  whatever  barrier  an  ungcdiy 
world  may  have,  or  think  they  have, 
for  their  defence,  God  will  surely 
make  a  way  for  his  indignation. 
Opposing  myriads  shall  be  only  as 
the    stubble  before  the   fire  of  his 

wrath . IT  Unt il  v:e v:ei e  passed  over. 

These  words  intimate  the  writer  to 

have  been  one  of  the  company. 

IT  Their  heart  melted.  In  modern 
language  we  read  of  the  heart  melt- 
ing with  pity  and  being  dissolved 
with  grief.     The  sacred  writers,  on 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


55 


melted  ;  "  neither  was  there  spi- 
rit in  them  any  more,  because 
of  the  children  of  Israel. 
2  H"  At  that  time  the  LoRd  said 

c  1  Kinijs  10.  5. 


this  and  similar  occasions,  apply  the 
same  me:aphor,  with  equal  truth  and 
beauty,  to  the  operation  of  fear  and 

terror. T"  Neithe?-  loas  there  spirit 

in  them  any  more.  The  special  prov- 
idence of  God  is  to  be  recognized  in 
the  panic  which  fell  upon  these  na- 
tions at  this  particular  juncture.  It 
gave  the  Israelites  just  the  opportu- 
nity they  required,  to  administer  the 
rite  of  circumcision,  and  to  keep  the 
Passover  securely  and  without  dis- 
turbance. Had  it  been  otherwise, 
and  had  the  Canaanites  attacked 
them,  as  Simeon  and  Levi  did  the 
Shechemites  when  they  icere  sore,  they 
would  have  taken  them  at  every  dis- 
adv^antage. 

2.  At  that  time.  As  if  in  allusion 
to  the  remarkable  circumstances  by 
which  they  were  now  surrounded; 
encamped  in  the  midst  of  an  enemy's 
coimtry,  and  yet  that  enemy  provi- 
dentially restrained  from  harming 
them,  so  that  they  were  commanded, 
as  if  in  their  very  sight  and  presence, 
to  reduce  themselves  to  a  condition 
of  comparative  v/eakness  and  help- 
lessness. '  This  formed  a  very  great 
trial  of  their  faith,  and  their  prompt 
and  universal  obedience  in  such  crit- 
ical circumstances,  manifested  a  con- 
fidence in  the  Lord's  protection,  and 
a  submission  to  his  will,  which  con- 
firm the  sentiment  that  this  was  the 
best  of  all  the  generations  of  Israel.' 

Scott. '^\  Make  thee  sharp   Icnives. 

Heb.  D^n'i  mmin  ^  r:^''J  eseh  lelcah 
harboth  tzurim,  prepare,  make  ready, 
knives  of  rock,  stone,  or  Jiint.  Of  such 


unto  Joshua,  Make  thee  '^  sharp 
knives,  and  circumcise  again  the 
children  of  Israel  the  second 
time. 

a  Exod.  4.  23. 

materials  were  the  edge-tools  of  all 
nations  made  before  the  use  of  iron 
became  common.  At  this  day, 
among  most  of  the  savage  tribes  in- 
habiting the  islands  of  the  sea,  or 
other  baibarous  climes,  the  same  cus- 
tom prevails.  Their  knives,  and  also 
th&n  arrow  and  spear-heads,  are  made 
of  stone ;  and  similar  relics  of  the 
aborigines  of  our  own  country  are 
often  turned  up  by  the  plough.  It  is 
not  probable  that  the  Israelites  were 
altogether  strangers  to  the  use  of  iron, 
or  were  unfurnished  with  various 
metallic  tools,  as  their  different  fab- 
rications in  the  wilderness  force  upon 
us  the  belief  that  they  must  have  em- 
ployed both  iron  and  steel ;  but  from 
the  case  of  Zipporah,  Ex.  4.  25,  it 
appears  to  hav^e  been  unlawful  to  use 
any  kind  of  meto.l  in  this  religious 
rite,  and  this  opinion  is  confirmed  by 
the  practice  of  a  tribe  in  Ethiopia  at 
this  day,  who,  professing  to  follow 
the  Mosaic  institution,  perform  the 
rite  of  circumcision,  according  to 
Ludolf,  with  knives  of  stone.  It  is 
supposed  too  that  such  instruments 
were  not  so  liable  to  cause  inflamma- 
tion, as  knives  or  razors  of  metal. 

^And  circumcise  again  the  children 
of  IsroM  the  second  time.  Heb. 
^7D  :iiai  veshfib  mol,  returri  (and) 
circumcise.  This  is  not  to  be  under- 
stood as  a  command  to  repeat  circum- 
cision on  those  individu  Is  Avho  had 
already  received  it.  This  would 
have  been  at  once  unnecessary  and 
impracticable.  It  merely  implies 
that  they  were  to  o-enew  the  observ- 


b6 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  I45I. 


3  And  Joshua  made  him  sharp 
knives,  and  circumcised  the  chil- 


ance  of  a  rite  which  had  been  neg- 
lected in  their  travels  in  the  desert. 
The  command  was  given  now,  at 
this  early  period  after  their  entrance 
into  the  promised  land,  (1)  That  the 
reproach  of  Egypt  might  be  rolled 
away ;  (2)  That  they  might  be  duly 
prepared  to  celebrate  the  Passover, 
of  which  none  might  eat  who  were 
uncircumcised,  Ex.  12.  48 ;  and  (3) 
As  a  trial  of  their  faith  under  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  they  were  now 
placed,  surrounded  by  enemies  intent 
upon  their  destruction,  and  who 
could  desire  no  greater  advantage 
than  such  a  crippled  state  of  their  in- 
vaders would  give  them.  '  There  is 
a  general  circumcision  now  of  the 
people,  as  there  had  been  at  their 
coming  out  of  Egypt ;  and  as  CTod 
then  closed  the  Egyptians  in  three 
days'  darkness  that  they  eould  not 
stir,  so  now  he  striketh  the  Canaan- 
ites  with  terror,  that  they  dare  not 
stir  to  hurt  the  people  while  th^y 
were  sore.  Circumcision  sealed  the 
lease  of  the  land  of  Canaan ;  and 
therefore  as  soon  as  they  set  foot  on 
it  they  must  be  circumcised.'  Light- 
foot  Had  Joshua  acted  on  the  prin- 
ciples common  to  all  other  generals, 
when  invading  an  enemy's  countr)', 
he  would  either  have  prosecuted  his 
advantages  instantly,  while  his  ene- 
mies were  filled  with  terror,  and 
crushed  them  before  they  had  time 
to  prepare  for  their  defence  ;  or  he 
would  have  fortified  his  own  camp 
to  prevent  surprise^  and  to  be  in  con- 
stant readiness  for  any  emergency 
that  might  ari<e.  But  instead  of 
adopting  any  military  plans  what- 
ever, the  very  day  after  he  had  in- 


dren  of  Israel  at  the  hill  of  the 
foreskins. 


vaded  the  country,  without  waiting 
to  know  what  effect  the  invasion 
would  have,  he  appoints  nearly  every 
male  in  the  congregation  to  be  cir- 
cumcised !  Thus  by  one  act  disa- 
bling the  greater  part  of  his  whole 
army  from  even  standing  in  their 
own  defence  !  What  but  a  principle 
of  the  most  triumphant  faith  could 
have  brought  t>iem  to  submit  to  such 
an  injunction  as  this  1 

3.  And  Joshua  made  hhn  sharp 
knives.  That  is,  he  caused  them  to 
be  made,  they  were  made  by  his  or- 
der.  ^,Circu77icised  the  cMldren  of 

Israel.  Meaning  those  of  them  who 
had  not  been  already  circumcised, 
those  who  had  been  born  in  the  wil- 
derness and  were  under  forty  years 
of  age.  This  he  did  by  means  of  his 
agents.  As  the  number  to  whom  the 
rite  was  to  be  administered  was  im- 
mensely large,  and  the  time  allotted 
for  it  short,  a  great  many  hands  must 
necessarily  have  been  engaged  in  it. 
Probably  any  one  who  was  himself 
circumcised,  was  authorized  to  per- 
form it.  In  ordinary  circumstances 
it  is  proper  to  stand  upon  instituted 
observances  with  great  exactness, 
and  to  have  religious  rites  performed 
by  appropriate  ofiicers,  but  when  pe- 
culiar emergencies  arise,  swch  scru- 
pulousness must  sometimes  be  waiv- 
ed, and  rituals  give  way  to  essentials. 
God  will  have  mercy  rather  than 
sacrifice,  when  only  one  can  be  ren- 
dered  him. If  At  the  hill  of  the 

foreskins.  So  called  from  the  hil- 
lock of  foreskins,  the  result  of  the 
transaction. 

4.  And  this  is  the  cause,  &c.  The 
omission  in  this  case  was  probably 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


67 


4  And  this  is  the  cause  why 
Joshua  did  circumcise  :  *"  All  the 
people  that  came  out  of  Egypt, 
that  were  males,  even  all  the  men 
of  war  died  in  the  wilderness  by 
the  way,  after  they  came  out  of 
Egypt. 

5  i\ow  all  the  people  that  came 
out  were  circumcised  ;  but  all 
the  people  that  were  born  in  the 
wilderness  by  the  way  as  they 
came  forth  out  of  Egypt,  them 
they  had  not  circumcised. 

6  For  the  children  of  Israel 
walked  'forty  years  in  the  wil- 
derness, till  all  the  people  that 

t  Num.  14.  29  and  26.  64,  6-5.  Deut.  2.  16. 
f  Num.  14.  33.  Deut.  1.  3,  and  2.  7,  14.  Ps. 
95.  10. 

with  the  Divine  connivance,  as  the 
people  knew  not  the  precise  times 
wiien  they  were  to  march,  and  a  re- 
moval immediately  after  the  opera- 
tion might  have  been  dangerous  to 
tender  infants.  Moreover,  as  one 
design  of  this  rite  was  to  distinguish 
the  Israelites  from  all  other  people, 
it  was  not  so  nece.ssary  to  be  admin- 
istered w^hile  they  were  secluded 
from  the  world,  for  forty  )'ears  iti  the 
wilderness.  This  instance,  however, 
is  not  to  be  pleaded  as  authorizing 
the  neglect  or  postponement  of  any 
Divine  ordinance  in  common  circum- 
stances. 

6.  Walked  forty  years.  Led  for 
that  time  a  M-andering,  unsettled  life. 

^Till  the  people — were  consumed. 

Heb.  ^lan  t:n  ^i  ~:>  ad  Id  torn 
haggoi.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable 
that  the  word  here  rendered  people 
("^'3)  is  not  the  usual  term  employed 
to  denote  ihe  peculiar  people,  but  t!u.t 
Vv^hich  almost  invariably  designates 
the  Gentiles^  or  heathen,  in  contradis- 


were  men  of  war  which  came 
out  of  Egypt  were  consumed, 
because  they  obeyed  not  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  :  unto  whom 
the  Lord  sware  that  ^  he  would 
not  show  them  the  land  which 
the  Lord  sware  unto  their  fathers 
that  he  would  give  us,  ^  a  land 
that  floweth  with  milk  and 
honey. 

7  And  'their  children,  u'ho?n 
he  raised  up  in  their  stead,  them 
Joshua  circumcised  :  for  they 
were  uncircumcised,  because 
they  had  not  circumcised  them 
by  the  way. 


p  Num.  14.  23.    Ps.  95.  11.     Heb.  3.  11. 
h  Exod.  3.  8.    i  Num.  14.  31.    Deut.  1.  39. 


tinction  from  the  race  of  Israel.  We 
know  of  no  reason  for  its  adoption 
here,  unless  it  be  to  intimate,  that 
they  had,  by  their  deportment,  ren- 
dered themselves  unworthy  the  name 
and  privileges  of  Israelites.  They 
were  doubtless  those  of  whom  it  is 
elsewhere  said,  that  '  their  carcases 
fell  in  the  wilderness,'  a  doom  which 
befell  them  by  reason  of  their  rebel- 
lion.-—-IT  Would  not  show  them. 
Heb.  umst'T^n  harotham,  cause  to  see, 
i.  e.  w-ould  not  permit  them  to  eyijoy. 
Thus  Eccles.  2. 24,  '  There  is  nothing 
better  for  a  man^  than  that  he  should 
eat  and  drink,  and  that  he  should 
make  his  soul  enjoy  (Heb.  ir,i^  rii<in 
1^'DD  herah  cth  naphsho,  cause  his  soul 
to  see)  good  in  his  labor.'  Ps,  4.  6, 
'  Who  will  shoio  us  any  good  V 
(Heb.  IjS^'Ti  "^12  mi  yarenu,  v:ho  will 
cause  us  to  see,  i,  e.  to  enjoy,  to  have 
the  fruition  of  good\ 

7.  Their  children  whom  he  raised 
up  in  their  stead.  Or,  Heb.  ti'^pil 
hekim-  caused  to  stand,  made  to  sur- 


5d 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


8  And  it  came  to  pass  when 
they  had  done  circumcising  all 
the  jDeople,  that  they  abode  in 
their  places  in  the  camp,  ''till 
they  v.ere  whole. 

Vive,  preserved.  The  writer's  design 
seems  to  be,  to  state  a  contrast  in  the 
lot  of  the  fathers  and  the  children, 
using  the  term  '  raised  up,'  in  oppo- 
sition to  '  consumed,'  in  the  preceding 
verse.  The  one  he  destroyed  for 
their  rebellion,  the  other  he  gracious- 
ly preserved  alive,  established,  coAised 
to  subsist.  See  JNote  on  Ex.  9.  16, 
•where  this  sense  of  the  term  is  amply 
confirmed.  The  words  contain  a 
fulfilment  of  the  promise  given  in 
connexion  with  the  threatening, 
Num.  14.  29-31. 

8.  Till  they  were  icholc.  Till  they 
were  healed.  Heb.  tni'^n  n5>  ad 
hayotham,  until  they  lived.  The 
original  is,  in  repeated  instances, 
used  to  signify  being  restored  to  health. 
Thus  Num.  21.  8,  '■  Every  one  that 
is  bitten,  when  he  looketh  upon  it, 
shall  live,''  i.  e.  be  recovered.  2  Kings 
8.  8,  '  Shall  I  recover  of  this  disease  V 
Heb.  '  shall  I  live?'  Is.  38.  21,  *  Lay 
it  for  a  plaster  on  the  boil,  and  he 
shall  recover;'  Heb.  'shall  live.' 
The  particle  '  till '  does  not  imply 
that  they  abode  in  their  tents  ?io  longer 
than  during  the  time  of  their  recov- 
ery ;  for  they  remained  there  while 
keeping  the  Passover.  The  same 
remark  is  to  be  made  of  the  import 
of  this  word  in  numerous  other  in- 
stances. 

9.  This  day  have  I  rolled  aicay  the 
reproach  of  Egypt.  It  has  been  much 
disputed  by  commentators  what  is 
meant  by  '  the  reproach  of  Egypt.' 
We  take  the  expression,  in  a  very 
full  sense,  to  mean  the  reproach  con- 


9  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Joshua,  this  day  have  I  rolled 
away   4he  reproach  of  Egypt 

k  See  Gen.  34. 25.  l  Gen.  34. 14.  1  Sam. 
14.  6,  See  Lev  18.  3.  ch..24.  14.  Ezek. 
20.  7,  and  23  3,  8. 


nected  vnth  Egypt,  in  whatever  way, 
whether  actively  or  passively.  (1) 
Actively ;  inasmuch  as  the  Israelites 
themselves,  while  in  the  wilderness, 
did  virtually  reproach  the  Most  High 
in  respect  to  the  land  of  Egypt,  griev- 
ing that  they  had  left  it,  wishing 
that  they  had  died  there,  charging 
him  with  leading  them  out  thence 
to  slay  them  in  the  desert,  and  pro- 
posing to  appoint  a  leader  and  to  re- 
turn thither.  The  I4th  chapter  of 
Numbers  details  these  murmuring 
complaints,  and  shows  that  God  was 
exceedingly  angry  with  the'  people 
on  this  accoimt,  and  would  have  de- 
stroyed them  but  for  the  intercession 
of  Moses.  But  now  the  guilt  of  that 
conduct  was  to  be  rolled  away  or 
pardoned,  they  were  no  longer  on 
account  of  it  to  be  kept  out  of  pos- 
session of  the  promised  land;  and 
not  only  so,  they  should  never  have 
any  more  the  least  occasion  or  in- 
ducement to  vent  such  groundless 
reproaches.  By  being  brought  into 
Canaan  in  so  gracious  and  glorious 
a  manner,  and  having  every  prom- 
ise fulfilled  to  them,  all  occasion  of 
complaint  was  for  ever  cut  off.  (2) 
Passively ;  their  bondage  in  Egypt 
was,  in  a  sense,  a  reproach  and  a 
disgrace  to  them;  it  would  be  so 
accounted  by  other  nations,  while  it 
continued,  and  they  would  be  dispar- 
aged by  reason  of  it.  It  is  probable 
also  that  the  Egyptians  themselves, 
seeing  them  wander  so  long  in  the 
wilderness,  reproached  and  taunted 
them,  as  if  brought  there  to  be  de- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


69 


from    off'  3'ou :    wherefore    the 
name  of  the  place  is  called  "'Gil- 
gal  unto  this  day. 
10  1!"  And  the  children  of  Israel 


ch.  4.  19. 


stroyed ;  but  now,  having  entered 
Canaan  in  triumph,  and  being  put  in 
possession  of  all  the  covenanted  bless- 
ings promised  to  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, of  which  circumcision  was  the 
seal,  this  reproach  was  hencefordi 
dOiie  away.  Both  the  disgrace  of 
Iheir  bondage  and  the  contemptuous 
aspersions  of  their  oppressors,  should 
cease  from  this  time  forward  for  ever. 

TT    Wherefore   the  name    of    the 

place  is  called  Gilgal  unto  this  day. 
That  is,  'rolling,'  'rolling  away.' 
Gilgal  was  situated  between  Jericho 
and  the  river  Jordan,  about  one  mile 
and  a  half,  or  two  miles,  from  the 
former,  and  six  from  the  latter. 
Noching  of  this  city  now  remains; 
but  travellers  are  shown  a  pile  of 
stones  denominated  Galgala,  which, 
though  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  site  of  the  ancient  Gilgal, 
is  supjiosed  by  some  to  be  the  monu- 
ment erected  by  Joshua.  The  clause 
'  unto  this  day,'  sufficiently  indicates 
that  the  events  related  in  the  book  of 
Joshua,  or  at  least  in  this  part  of  it, 
were  not  consigned  to  writing  imme- 
diately upon  their  occurrence,  but 
after  the  lapse  of  some  considerable 
time. 

10.  And  kept  the  passover.  Heb. 
'  and  made  the  pas.sovcr.'  The  third 
from  its  institution.  The  first  was 
observed  in  Egypt  on  the  eve  of  their 
deparinre,thc  .second  at  Sinai  on  the 
ibl lowing  year,  Num.  9.  1,  2,  while 
during  the  long  interval  down  to  the 
present  time  it  had  been  wholly  sus- 
pended.    Amos  5.  25. IT  On  the 


encamped  in  Gilgal,  and  kept 
the  passover  "  on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  month  at  even,  in  the 
plains  of  Jericho. 

u  Exod.  12.  6.    Num.  9.  5. 


fourteenth  day  of  the  month.  That 
is,  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first 
month,  or  Nisan. — From  this  re- 
markable portion  of  the  sacred  nar- 
rative we  may  learn,  (1.)  That  in 
whatever  circumstances  we  are 
placed,  religion  should  be  our  first 
concern.  If  ever  there  were  circ urn- 
stances  which  would  seem  to  justify 
the  postponement  of  religious  du- 
ties, one  would  think  they  were  those 
of  Joshua  on  this  occasion,  when  he 
had  but  just  set  foot  on  the  land  where 
great  and  powerful  nations  were 
prepared  to  combat  for  their  very 
existence.  Yet  we  behold  him  calmly 
and  sedately  engaging  in  the  duties 
of  religion,  as  if  it  were  of  vastly 
more  consequence  that  God  should 
be  honored  and  served  in  the  way  of 
his  appointment,  than  that  the  preser- 
vation or  triumph  of  Israel  should  be 
secured.  (2.)  To  place  implicit  con- 
fidence  in  God,  even  In  the  midst  of 
the  most  appalling  dangers.  Nothing, 
to  human  view,  could  have  been 
more  rash  or  perilous  than  for  the 
chosen  people,  just  at  this  juncture, 
to  suspend  all  their  military  prepara- 
tions, and  give  themselves  to  the 
celebration  of  a  religious  festival. 
But  conscious  of  being  in  the  way 
of  dut}-,  they  reposed  so  strong  a  con- 
fidence in  the  protecting  power  of 
Jehovah,  that  they  gave  themselves 
no  concern  as  to  the  many  dangers 
by  which  they  were  surrounded. 
Provided  our  motives  and  our  con- 
duct are  right,  we  can  be  in  no  hazard 
of  confiding  too  implicitly  in  God. 


60 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  145L 


11  And  they  did  eat  of  the  old  '  eaten  of  the  old  corn  of  the 
eorn  of  the  land  on  the  morrow  \  land ;  neither  had  the  children 
after  the  jjassover,  unleavened  |  of  Israel  manna  any  more  ;  but 
cakes  and  parched  corn  in  the  j  they  did  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the 
self-same  day.  j  land  of  Canaan  that  year. 

12  TT  And  "  the  manna  ceased  13  IT  And  it  came  to  pass 
on  the  morrow  after  they  had   when  Joshua  was  by  Jericho, 

o  Exod  16.  33, 


11.  jhid  they  did  eat  of  the  old  corn 
of  the  land.  Of  the  old  grain,  of  what- 
ever kind  it  were.  This  they  proba- 
bly found  in  abundance  in  the  de- 
serted granaries  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  had  fled  away,  and  betaken  them- 
selves for  safety  to  the  defenced  city 
of  Jericho.  The  original  phrase, 
however,  may  be  rendered  simply, 
'  They  did  eat  of  the  product  or  yield- 
ing of  the  earth,'  in  contradistinction 
from  the  manna  which  came  from 

heaven. IT    And     parched    corn. 

That  is,  the  new  corn  of  the  present 
year,  which  they  found  standing  in 
the  fields.  The  new  or  green  corn 
was  parched  to  enable  them  more 
easily  to  grind  it  for  food.  This 
would  not  be  necessary  in  respect  to 

old  corn. IT  On  the  morrow  after 

the  passover.  Meaning,  probably,  on 
the  sixteenth  day  of  the  month  ;  for 
the  paschal  lamb  was  killed  and 
roasted  on  the  fourteenth,  and  the 
feast  began  that  night,  which,  accord- 
ing to  their  reckoning,  formed  a  part 
of  the  fifteenth  day,  through  the 
whole  of  which  the  feast  continued, 
so  that  the  sixteenth  day  was  the 
morrow  after  the  passover,  when  they 
were  required  by  the  Law  (Lev.  23. 
10,  11)  to  offer  to  God  the  wave-sheaf 
of   the  first    fruits,   and  then  were 

allowed  to  eat  the  rest. IT  In  the 

selfsame  day.  Perhaps  importing 
the  very  great  eagerness  of  the  people 
to  feast  upon  the  fruits  of  the  land  as 


soon  as  they  might  lawfully  do  it. 
Having  previously  renewed  their 
covenant  with  God  and  partaken  of 
its  seals,  circumcision  and  the  pass- 
over,  they  wished  at  once  to  enter 
upon  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  thereb}"  confirmed  to 
them. 

12.  And  the  manna  ceased  on  iht 
morrow.  Because  it  was  now  no 
longer  necessary.  God  would  not 
have  us  expect  extraordinary  or  mi- 
raculous supplies  when  they  may  be 
procured  by  ordinary  means.  The 
sudden  cessation  of  the  manna  would 
teach  the  people  also  very  im.pres- 
sively  that  it  was  not  an  ordinary 
production  of  nature,  that  it  had  not 
fallen  for  so  long  a  time  by  chance, 
or,  like  the  dew,  in  consequence  of 
fixed  laws,  but  that  it  was  a  special 
and  preternatural  gift  of  the  Divine 
goodness.  We  are  prone  to  look 
upon  our  common  mercies  as  mat- 
ters of  course,  and  God  sometimes 
withdraws  them  to  teach  us  our  de- 
pendence more  effectually. — '  The 
word  and  ordinances  of  God  are  spi- 
ritual manna,  with  which  God  nour- 
ishes his  people  in  this  wilderness, 
but  when  we  come  to  the  heavenly 
Canaan,  this  manna  will  cease,  for 
we  shall  then  no  longer  have  need 
of  it.'     Henry. 

13.  Mlicn  Joshua  was  by  Jericho. 
Heb.  in^'nn  beriho,  in  Jericho ;  i.  e. 
in  the  plains  of  Jericho,  in  the  coun- 


B  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


61 


that  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 
looked,  and  behold,  there  stood 
P  a  man  over  against  him  "^  with 


try  or  territory  immediately  adjoining 
Jericho,  and  called  by  the  same  name 
probably  at  some  distance  from  the 
camp,  whither  he  may  have  repaired 
for  the  purpose  of  observing  in  person 
the  position  of  the  city  and  the  most 
favorable  point  of  attack.  The  sixth 
chapter  ought  certainly  to  have  com- 
menced here,  as  the  subject  now  en- 
tered upon  is  entirely  new,  and  the 
present  arrangement  most  unnatu- 
rally divides  the  communication 
which  Joshua  had  with  the  angel, 
and  w^hich  is  continued  to  ch,  6.  5. 

^  There  stood  a  man.  One  in  the 

appearance  of  a  man,  one  whom 
Joshua  at  first  took  for  a  man.  That 
he  was  a  superhuman  being,  how- 
ever, is  evident  from  what  follows  ; 
and  there  seems  no  good  reason  to 
dissent  from  the  established  opinion 
of  both  ancient  and  modern  exposi- 
tors that  this  was  no  other  than  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Eiernal  Word,  ap- 
pearing in  that  form  which  he  was 
afterwards  to  assume  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  men.  The  reasons  for  this 
opinion  are,  (1)  The  title  which  he 
here  gives  himself,  '  Captain  of  the 
host  of  the  Lord,'  which  is  but  ano- 
ther form  of  the  name  '  Lord  of  hosts,' 
implying  the  ruler  of  all  the  heavenly 
hosts,  and  which  is  evidently  the  ap- 
propriate title  of  Jehovah- Jesus.  (2) 
His  acceptance  of  the  worship  or 
adoration  which  Joshua  here  pays 
him.  This  an  angel  or  any  created 
being  would  undoubtedly  have  re- 
fused. Comp.  Rev.  19.  10;  22.  9; 
Judg.  13.  IG.  Here  however,  instead 
of  reproving  Joshua  for  doing  him 
too  much  honor,  he  commands  him 
6 


his  sword  drawn  in  his  hand  • 

P  Gen.  18.  2,  and  32.  24.  Ex.  23  23.  Zech. 
1.  8.    Act.s  1.  10.     q  Numb.  22.  23. 


to  do  stili  more,  by  '  loosing  his  shoes 
I-'om  off  his  feet ;'  thus  insisting  upon 
the  highest  acknowledgment  of  the 
Divine  presence  which  was  in  use 
among  the  eastern  nations.  (3^  From 
the  place  being  made  holy  by  his 
presence,  which  was  the  .special  pre- 
rogative of  God,  Ex.  3,  5;  and  (4) 
From  his  being  expressly  called  '  Je- 
hovah,' ch.  6.  2,  which  passage  un- 
doubtedly forms  a  part  of  the  present 
narrative,  as  otherwise  he  must  have 
appeared  without  any  ostensible  ob- 
ject, neither  delivering  any  message, 
making  any  promise,  nor  uttering 
any  command,  except  merely  that 
Joshua  should  loose  his  shoes  from 

his  feet. ITOfcr  against  him.    As 

if  with  a  hostile  intent,  in  somewhat 
of  a  threatening  attitude.  The  same 
phrase  in  the  original  occurs  Dan. 
10.  13,  '  The  prince  of  the  kingdom 
of  Persia  loUhstood  me  (Heb.  '  stood 

over  against    me.') IF   With    his 

drawn  sit'ord  in  his  hand.  As  a  sym- 
bol of  the  character  in  which  he  was 
now  to  manifest  himself  in  behalf  of 
Joshua  and  Israel.  So  he  is  else- 
where termed,  '  A  man  of  war,'  Ex. 
15.  3,  His  appearing  in  this  form 
would  serve  also  not  only  to  justify 
the  war  in  which  Joshua  was  now 
engaged,  to  show  him  that  it  was  of 
God,  who  had  given  him  his  com- 
mission to  kill  and  slay,  but  to  en- 
courage him  to  prosecute  it  with  vi- 
gor. If  God  was  for  him,  who  could 
be  against  him?  He  had  indeed 
previously  received  many  promises 
of  success,  but  God  is  of  en  .;raciou->ly 
pleased  to  confirm  and  follow  up  his 
promises,  by  signal  manifestations  of 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  145L 


and  Joshua  went  unto  him,  and 
said  unio  him,  Art  thou  for  us, 
or  for  our  adversaries  ? 

14  And  he  said.  Nay ;  but  as 
*  captain  of  the  host  of  the  Lord 
am  I  now  come.     And  Joshua 

r  See  Ex.  23.  20.  Dan.  10.  13,  2],  and  12. 
1.    Rev.  12.  7,  and  19.  11, 14. 

his  presence  and  favor  :  '  Thou  meet- 
est  him  that  rejoiceth  and  worketh 
righteousness,  those  that  remember 

Ihee  in  thy  ways.' II  And  Joshua 

went  unio  him.  Displaying  herein  a 
remarkable  courage  and  intrepidity. 
Instead  of  taming  away  from  the  for- 
midable personage  before  him,  and 
seeking  hasdly  to  regain  the  camp, 
he  walks  boldly  up,  and  demands  of 
him  whether  he  be  a  friend  or  a  foe. 
This  undaunted  bearing  was  the  fruit 
of  his  strong  confidence  in  God.  No 
face  of  clay  will  intimidate  him  who 
looks  upon  God  as  his  friend  and 
protector,  and  who  is  found  in  the 
way  of  duty.  It  is  the  disobedient, 
the  obstinate,  the  rebellious  spirit,  in 
which  cowardice  dwells.  The  good 
man  is  ever  the  trite  hero. 

14.  And  he  said,  Naij,  but  as  cap- 
tain of  the  host  of  the  Lord  am  I  now 
come.  '  I  am  neither  Israelite  nor 
Canaanite,  neither  friend  nor  foe  in 
your  sense  of  the  words,  for  I  am  not 
a  mortal  man,  but  as  prince  and 
leader  of  the  Lord's  host,  of  the  an- 
gels in  heaven,  and  even  of  that  very 
power  of  which  you  are  commander, 
have  I  new  come,  to  instruct  and  aid 
thee  in  the  great  undertaking  in 
which  thou  art  engaged.'  There 
seems  to  be  a  peculiar  emphasis  in 
the  word  noui  (ur.S'  attah),  as  if  he 
had  said,  '  I  who  formerly  appeared 
as  the  Jehovah  of  the  burning  bush 
(Ex.  3.),  and  who  was  announced  as 


'fell  on  his  face  to  the  earth, 
and  did  worship,  and  said  unto 
him.  What  saith  my  lord  unto 
his  servant  ? 

15  And   the    captain    of    the 
Lord's  host  said  unto  Joshua, 

s  Gen.  17.  3. 


the  tutelary  Angel  of  the  travelling 
hosts  (Ex  23.  23)  nuio  appear  in  the 
different  character  of  the  Divine  De- 
fender of  the  covenant  nation  ;  aiid 
as  my  presence  formerly  made  Sinai 
holy  (Ex.  19. 20),  so  now  do:h  it  sanc- 
tify the  spot  upon  which  my  footsteps 
tread.'  He  probably  at  the  same  mo- 
ment put  forth  some  visible  demon- 
stration of  his  true  character,  which 
at  once  satisfied  Joshua,  and  filled 
him  with  an  overwhelming  sense  of 
his  majesty  and  glory,  so  that  he  in- 
stinctively fell  on  his  face  to  the 
earth,  and  offered  him  those  tokens 
of  worship  which  a  mortal  is  bound 
to  pay  to  his  Creator.  How  much 
reason  he  had  for  tKis  is  evident  from 
ch.  6.  2,  where  the  august  stranger 
expressly  denominates  \\\mse\{  Jeho- 
vah.  IF  }Vhat  saith  my  Lord  unto 

his  servant  7  With  the  profoundest 
reverence  I  acknowledge  thee  as  my 
Lord  and  leader,  I  subject  myself  to 
thy  sovereign  will,  and  humbly  wait 
for  the  orders  it  may  seem  good  to 
thee  to  issue. 

1.5.  Loose  thy  shoe  from  off  thy  foot. 
This  was  a  token  of  respect  and  rev- 
erence usual  in  the  east,  and  equiva- 
lent to  uncovering  the  head  with  us. 
(See  Illustrations  of  the  Scripture'^, 
p.  129.)  These  are  the  some  wor ' 
which  the  nngel  of  the  burnins'  bi 
spake  to  Moses,  Ex.  3.  5  from  which, 
and  other  circumstances,  it  is  proba 
ble  that  it  was  the  same  person  who 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


63 


"Loose  thy  shoe  from  off  thy 
foot,  for  the  place  whereon  thou 
standest  is  holy :  and  Joshua 
did  so. 

s  Ex.  3.  5.     Acts  7.  33. 


appeared  in  both  places.  That  great 
and  glorious  Being,  who  knows  fully 
his  own  infinite  perfections,  which 
we  are  very  inadequate  to  compre- 
hend, knows  what  external  manifes- 
tations oi"  respect  they  justly  claim 
of  his  creatures.  '  Outward  expres- 
sions of  inward  reverence,  and  a  re- 
ligious awe  of  God,  well  become  us, 
and  are  required  of  us,  whenever  we 
approach  to  him  in  solemn  ordinan- 
ces.' Henry. IT  The  place  w/ic7eon 

thou  standest  is  holy.  Heb.  IZj^p  Ico- 
desk,  is  holiness.  It  was  for  the  time 
made  holy,  or  consecrated  by  the  Di- 
vine presence.  As  soon  as  that  was 
withdrawn,  its  peculiar  sacredness 
also  forsook  it,  and  it  was  no  more 
holy  than  any  other  place.  Yet  with 
the  pious  heart  there  will  naturally 
be,  from  the  laws  of  association,  a 
feeling  of  reverence  for  any  place 
■where  God  has  teen  pleased  to  vouch- 
safe the  special  manifestation  of 
himself.  Such  a  sentiment,  howev- 
er, should  be  guarded  from  degene- 
rating into  superstition. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
We  fully  assent  to  the  remark  of 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  that  there  is 
scarcely  a  more  unfortunate  division 
of  chapters  in  the  whole  Bible  than 
here.  According  to  the  present  ar- 
rangement, the  reader  is  greatly  at  a 
loss  to  know  what  is  intended  by  this 
extraordinary  appearance  of  the  Son 
of  God,  as  it  would  seem  that  tlie 
whole  account  of  his  visit  is  closed 
with  the  foregoing  chapter,  whereas 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OW    Jericho    was    straitly 
shut    up,    because    of   the 

children  of  Israel ;    none  went 

out,  and  none  came  in. 


N 


in  fact  it  is  continued  in  the  present. 
The  first  verse  of  ch.  6,  is  a  mere 
parenthesis,  relating  the  state  of  Jeri- 
cho at  the  time  Joshua  was  favored 
by  this  encouraging  vision.  The 
thread  of  the  narrative  respecting 
this  Divine  personage,  commenced 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  is  then  re- 
sumed, and  continued  to  v.  5. 

1.  Noto  Jericho  was  straitly  shut 
up.  Sirictly,  closely  shut  up.  Heb. 
ri"l3w?21  Tiino  sogereth  ^o-mesugcretft, 
did  shut  up  and  was  shut  up,  or  clos- 
ing and  loas  closed.  The  original 
expression  is  peculiar  and  emphatic, 
and  was  doubtless  designed  to  imply 
the  extreme  care  and  vigilance  with 
which  the  gates  had  been  closed  and 
were  watched,  not  only  by  night,  as 
when  the  spies  came,  ch.  2.  5,  but 
also  by  day.  Accordingly  the  Chal. 
renders  it,  '  And  Jericho  was  shut  up 
with  iron  doors  and  forlified  with 
brazen  bolts,  so  that  none  came  out 
either  to  combat  or  to  make  ofiers  of 
peace.'  The  language  also  intimates, 
that  the  city  was  not  only  effectually 
shut  up  and  made  secure  from  with- 
in, bat  was  also  so  closely  blockaded 
by  the  Israelites  from  without,  that 
there  was  no  going  out  or  coming  in 

even  to  its  own  citizens. ^Because 

of  the  children  of  Israel.  '  Methinks 
I  see  how  they  called  their  council 
of  war,  debated  of  all  means  of  de- 
fence gathered  their  forces,  trained 
their  soldiers,  set  strong  guards  to 
the  gates  and  walls ;  and  now  would 
persuade  one  another  that  unless  Is- 
rael could  fly  into  their  city,  the  siege 


64 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


Lord   said    unto 


2  And   the 
Joshua,  See, 
thine    hand    Jericho, 
''king  thereof,  -(md  the  mighty 
men  of  valor. 


I  have  given  into 
and    the 


was  vain.  (So)  vain  worldlings 
think  iheir  ramparts  and  barricadoes 
can  keep  out  the  vengeance  of  God ; 
their  blindness  suifers  them  to  look 
no  further  than  the  means ;  the  su- 
preme hand  of  the  Almighty  comes 
not  within  the  compass  of  their  fears. 
Every  carnal  heart  is  a  Jericho  shut 
up  ;  God  sirs  down  before  it,  and  dis- 
plays mercy  and  judgment  in  sight 
of  the  walls  thereof:  it  hardens  itself 
in  a  wilful  security,  and  saith,  '  Aha, 
I  shall  never  be  moved."  '  Bp.  Hcdl. 
2.  And  the  Lord  said  tinfo  Joshna. 
That  is,  after  Joshua  had  loosed  his 
shoes  from  off  his  feet,  as  command- 
ed above,  ch.  5.  15.  He  who  was 
before  called  the  '  Captain  of  the 
Lord's  host/  is  here  called  '  Lord,'  or 
'  Jehovah,'  thus  clearly  proving  that 
it  was  a  Divine  personage;  for  who 
else  could  promise  and  perform  what 

follows  1 IT  /  have  given  into  thy 

hand  Jericho.  Not  only  1  ivill  do  it, 
but  I  have  done  it ;  it  is  all  thine  own, 
as  surely  as  if  it  were  even  now  in 

thy  possession. IT  And  the  mighty 

men  of  valor.  The  copulative  '  and ' 
does  not  occur  here  in  the  Hebrew. 
The  proper  rendering  is,  '  I  have 
given  into  thy  hand  Jericho  and  the 
king  thereof,  (who  are,  or,  although 
they  are)  mighty  men  of  valor,'  i.  e. 
experienced  and  powerful  warriors, 
men  with  whom,  if  you  were  to  con- 
tend on  ordinary  terms,  you  would 
be  unable  to  cope,  but  whom,  throusfh 
my  assistance,  you  shall  u'terly  over- 
throw, A  city,  in  Scripture  style,  is 
often  taken,  not  for  a  collection  of 


3  And  ye  shall  compass  the 
city,  all  ye  men  of  war,  and  go 
round  about  the  city  once  :  thus 
shalt  thou  do  six  days. 

a  ch.  2.  9,24,anfl  8.  1.    b  Deut.7.  24. 


houses  and  ivalls,  but  for  the  inhabit- 
ants, an  assemblage  of  people  dwelling 
together  in  a  corporate  capacity.  The 
same  distinction  holds  betMeen  the 
Latin  urbs  and  civitas,  By  Jericho 
and  its  king,  is  here  meant  the  inha- 
bitants and  their  king,  and  they  Ere 
spoken  of  collectively  as  '  mighty 
men  of  valor,' 

3,  And  yc  shall  compass — thus  shall 
thou  do  six  days.  The  address  is 
made  in  the  latter  clause  to  Joshua, 
in  the  singular  number,  as  the  com- 
mander and  representative  of -the 
people.  In  the  former  clause  the 
plural  is  used.  Such  changes  of  per- 
ison  are  frequent,  and  always  worthy 
of  attention,  as  showing  the  construc- 
tive unity  of  people  and  their  leaders. 
' — It  seemed  good  to  Infiniie  Wisdom 
to  appoint  this  method  of  besieging 
the  city,  (1)  To  magnify  his  power, 
to  show  in  a  convincing  manner, 
both  to  the  Canaanites  and  to  Israel, 
that  Omnipotence  alone  had  achieved 
the  work,  that  he  was  infinitely 
above  the  need  of  the  ordinary  means 
of  obtaining  a  victory,  and  to  render 
those  of  his  enemies  entirely  inex- 
cusable who  should  presume  to  with- 
stand his  resistless  arm.  (2~»  To  try 
the  faith  and  obedience  of  Joshua 
afid  his  people,  by  prescribing  a 
course  of  conduct  that  seemed  to 
human  wisdom  the  height  of  folly 
and  absurdity,  and  also  to  secure  a 
profound  respec  to  v.W  l:is  sub^eciK ni 
institutions,  however  simple  or  con- 
temptible they  might  seem  to  the  eye 
of  carnal  reason.    (3)  To  put  honor 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


65 


4  And  seven  priests  shall  bear 
before  the  ark  seven  trumpets 
oi"  rams'  horns  :  and  the  seventh 
day  ye  shall  compass  the  city 
seven  times,  and  '^the  priests 
shall  blow  with  the  trumpets. 

c  See  Judg,  7.  16,  22.    <i  Num.  10.  8. 

upon  the  ark  as  the  appointed  token 
of  his  presence,  and  to  confirm  still 
more  fully  that  veneration  and  awe, 
with  which  they  had  always  been 
taught  to  regard  it. 

4.  Seven  trumpets  of  rams'  horns. 
Heb.  D-^'^ni^  rmsrj  shoperoth  yo- 
belini,  truvipets  of  the  jubilee^  i.e.  such 
trumpets  as  used  to  be  blown  in  the 
year  of  jubilee,  implying,  perhaps, 
that  the  entrance  of  Israel  into  Ca- 
naan was  a  kind  of  jubilee  to  them, 
an  occasion  that  called  rather  for 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet  of  joy,  than 
the  dreadful  notes  of  the  trumpet  of 
war.  No  other  scriptural  instance 
is  adduced,  in  which  the  word  Jd31"i 
yobiil  is  translated  ram,  though  it  be 
true  that  the  Chaldee  paraphrase 
favors  that  rendering.  Bat  its  single 
authority  on  the  point  is  not  conclu- 
sive. The  like  phrase  in  v.  5,  is,  in 
the  original  pul"'  ']"ip  kcrcn  yobel, 
horn  of  jubilee,  and  proves  only  that 
horns  were  used,  without  restricting 
the  meaning  to  rams'  horns.  Still 
the  sense  of  rams'  horns,  as  a  tra- 
ditionary sense,  seems  for  ages  to 
have  connected  itself  with  the  phrase, 
grounded,  we  presumo,  on  the  fact, 
that  the  trumpets  in  question  were 
made  in  the  shape  of  the  horns  of  this 
animal,  and  the  appellation  '  horn  of 
jubilee  '  may  be  used  figuratively  for 
trumpet  of  jubilee,  just  as  with  ns  a 
well  known  musical  instrument  of 
brass  is  called  '  a  horn,'  from  its 
form,  and  another  called  '  a  serpent,' 
6* 


5  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  when  they  make  a  long 
blast  with  the  ram's  horn,  and 
when  ye  hear  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  all  the  people  shall 
shout  with  a  great  shout :  and 
the  wall  of  the  city  shall  fall 


for  the  same  reason. IT  The  sev- 
enth   day  ye  shall   compass  the  city 
seven   times.      The    time  was    thus 
lengthened  out,  both  to  afford  a  con- 
tinued exercise  of  the  faith  and  pa- 
tience of  the  people,  and  that  the  be- 
sieged and  besiegers  might  be  the 
more    deeply   impressed   with    that 
supernatural  power   by  which   the 
result  was  to  be  accomplished.    Men 
are    usually    prone    to    precipitate 
measures.     God  moves  deliberately, 
and  he  would  have  his  people  wait 
his  time.     'He  that  believeth  shall 
not  make  haste.'    '  It  is  the  pleasure 
of  God  to  hold  us  both  in  work  and 
in  expectation,  and  though  he  require 
our  continual  endeavors  for  the  sub- 
duing of  our  corruptions,  during  the 
six  days  of  our  life,   yet  we  shall 
never  find  it  perfectly  effected  till  the 
very  evening  of  our  last  day.'    Bp. 
Hall.     The  repeated  mention  of  the 
number  seven  in  this  connexion,  is 
worthy  of  notice.     It  has  been  sug- 
gested that  it  might  have  a  latent 
reference  to  the  creation  of  the  world 
in  six  days,  and  God's  resting  on  the 
seventh,  which  completed  the   first 
week,  and  in  the  present  case,  that 
it   may   convey   an   allusion  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  for  a  limited 
period  of  time,  at  the  close  of  which, 
perhaps  early  in  the  seventh  thousand 
yer.rs,all  Satan's  remaining  bulwarks 
shall  f^ill  to  the  ground,  and  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  become  the  king- 
doms of  the  Lord  and  of  his  Christ. 


66 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451, 


down  flat,  and  the  people  shall 
ascend  up  every  man  straight 
before  him. 

6  IT  And  Joshua  the  son  of 
IVun  called  the  priests,  and  said 
unto  them,  Take  up  the  ark  of 
the  covenant,  and  let  seven 
priests  bear  seven  trumpets  of 
rams'  horns  before  the  ark  of 
the  Lord, 

7  And  he  said  unto  the  people, 
Pass  on,  and  compass  the  city, 

5.  The  wall  of  the  city  shall  fall 
doit-n  fiat.  Not  absolutely  all  the 
wall  in  the  whole  extent  of  its  com- 
pass, since  that  would  have  involved 
the  house  of  Rahab  in  the  destruc- 
tion, which,  it  is  plain,  was  not  in- 
tended, nor  did  it  happen,  v.  22,  As 
'  the  city  was  completely  surrounded 
by  the  Israeliies,  the  falling  of  the 
wall  would  give  the  inhabitants  no 
opportunity  of  escape.  They  could 
not  break  through  the  array  of  armed 
men  that  hemmed  them  in.  The 
original  for  '  fall  down  flat'  is  'fall 
down  under  itself,'  or  '  in  its  place.' 
which  appears  to  mean  simply,  that 
the  wall  should  fall  down  to  its  very 

foundauons. IT  Ascend  up    every 

man  straight  before  him.  Tlie  ob- 
struction of  the  wall  being  removed, 
nothing  stood  in  the  way  of  the  peo- 
ple's advancing  in  a  direct  line,  as  if 
from  the  circumference  to  the  centre 
of  a  circle,  and  meeting  in  the  heart 
of  the  city.  This  is  called  '  going 
up/  or '  ascending,'  from  the  necessity 
there  was  of  climbing  over  the  ruins 
of  the  walls  on  their  way.  Besides 
which  it  is  common,  in  nearly  all 
langunges,  i)  d  scribe  tha  approach 
to  a  city  as  a  '  g  ing  a  •) ''  to  it.  After 
giving  these  directions,  the  Angel- 
Jehovah  no  doubt  departed. 


and  let  him  that  is  armed  pass 
on  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord. 

8  IT  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Joshua  had  spoken  unto  the 
people,  that  the  seven  priests 
bearing  the  seven  trumpets  of 
rams'  horns  passed  on  before 
the  Lord,  and  blew  with  the 
trumpets :  and  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  follow^ed 
them. 

9  *n"  And  the  armed  men  went 


6.  Arid  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun 
called  the  priests,  &c.  Although  the 
charge  which  he  now  received  re- 
lative to  the  manner  of  besieging  the 
city  was  highly  calculated  to  put  his 
faith  to  the  test^  yet  he  falters  not  in 
the  least,  but  complies  as  readily  as 
if  human  reason  had  nothing  to  ob- 
ject to  so  strange  a  procedure.  We 
cannot  but  be  admonished,  by  his 
example,  of  the  necessity  of  always 
subordinating  our  shallow  wisdom 
to  the  plain  mandates  of  Omnipotence. 

7.  And  he  said  unto  the  people. 
Heb.  Tl/SS^"^"!  va-yomeru,  and  they 
said ;  i.  e.  the  officers  acting  under 
the  general  orders  of  Joshua.  But 
the  Masoriies  have  indicated  a  doubt- 
ful readmg,  and  the  Glial.,  the  Lat. 
Vulg.,  and  most  of  the  versions,  have 
rendered  it  in  the  singular — '  he  said.' 
We  see  no  reason,  however,  to  ques- 
tion the  correctness  of  the  Hebrew 
text. 

8.  Passed  oyibef ore  the  Lord.  That 
is,  as  we  suppose,  before  the  ark  of 

the  Lord,  v.  4,  and  ch.  3. 11. IT  The 

ark  of  the  covenant.  The  ark  in 
which  were  deposited  the  t\\o  taMes 
whereon  ihe  covenrn-  w;  s  v.riitt?!!. 

9.  And  the  armed  men.  Heb, 
f  l^nn  hahalutz,  the  armed  m^n,  i,  e. 
each   armed  man,  collect,  sing,  for 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   VI. 


67 


before,  the  priests  that  blew 
with  the  trumpets,  "^and  the 
rere-ward  came  after  the  ark, 
the  priests  going  on,  and  blow- 
ing with  the  trumpets. 

10  And  Joshua  had  command- 
ed the  people,  saving.  Ye  shall 
not  shout,  nor  make  any  noise 

e  Num.  10.  25. 


plur. IT  The  rere-ward.  The  hind- 
er part.  The  original  t\^lf.l2  measseph, 
comes  from  wjwi<  asaph,  to  collect ,  to 
gather  up,  and  is  equivalent  to  our 
military  phrase  bringing  up  the  rear, 
and  not  improperly  rendered  in  the 
margin,  '  gathering  host.'  It  implies 
a  kind  and  protecting  care  towards 
those  who  are  its  objects.  The  same 
phraseology  occurs,  Is.  52.  12,  '  The 
Lord  will  go  before  you,  and  the 
God  of  Israel  will  be  your  rere-ward.'' 
(Heb.  tD^^0£^?2  7iieassiphkim,  your 
gatherer.)  Ps.  27.  10.  '  When  my 
father  and  my  mother  forsake  me, 
then  the  Lord  will  lake  me  up.'  (Heb. 
'^Z'tCi^"'  yaaspheni,  will  gather  me.) 
Judg.  19.  18,  '  I  am  now  going  to  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  there  is  no 
man  that  receiveth  (C]Dit?2  measseph) 
me  to  house.'  A  rere-ward,  there- 
fore, is  that  portion  of  an  army  which, 
moving  behind  the  main  body,  o-a^Aers 
up  all  the  stragglers,  takes  care  of 
any  that  may  faint  and  fall  by  the 
way,  sees  that  neither  cattle  nor  bag- 
gage are  missing,  and  protects  or 
covers  the  rear  of  the  host  from  the 
assault  of  enemies.  The  Jews  think 
the  division  of  Dan  is  meant,  which 
always  brought  up  the  rear.  Num.  10. 
10.  Nor  make  any  noise  with  your 
voice.  They  w^ere  not  only  required 
to  absiain  fiom  shouting,  but  to  ob- 
serve a  profound  silence  in  every 
respect.    This  would  be  expressive 


with  your  voice,  neither  shall 
any  word  proceed  out  of  your 
mouth,  until  the  day  1  bid  you 
shout,  then  shall  ye  shout. 

11  So  the  ark  of  the  Lord 
compassed  the  city,  going  about 
it  once  :  and  they  came  into  the 
camp,  and  lodged  in  the  camp. 

12  M  And    Joshua   rose   early 


of  a  reverent  awe  in  anticipation  of 
the  event ;  and  would  preclude  all 
danger  of  mistake  as  to  the  precise 
time  when  they  were  required  to 
shout.  If  noise  of  any  kind  had  been 
allowed,  they  might  have  taken  it  for 
the  signal  of  a  general  acclamation. 
This  would  not  only  have  been  in- 
effectual before  the  appointed  time, 
but  would  have  rendered  them  the 
derision  of  their  enemies. 

11.  So  the  ark  of  the  Lord  com- 
passed the  city.  Or,  'so  he  caused 
the  ark  of  the  Lord  to  compass  the 
city.'  The  original  will  admit  of 
this  rendering,  and,  indeed,  rather 
requires  it,  as  the  Hephil  form  of  the 
verb  (HD*^  yasseb)  is  no  where  used 
in  an  intran.sitive  sense,  excepting 
Ps.  140.  9.  The  procession  un- 
doubtedly moved  at  a  sufficient  dis- 
tance to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
enemy's  arrows,  and  out  of  (he  hear- 
ing of  their  scoffs.  They  must  have 
looked  with  a  very  contemptuous 
eye  upon  such  an  unwarlike  mode 
of  assault,  and  when  day  after  day 
passed,  and  no  effect  followed,  would 
naturally  become  hardened  in  secu- 
rity, and  think  the  whole  the  mere 
mockery  of  a  s^iege,  a  senseless  and 
childish  parade.  Thus  they  would 
crv  'peace  snd  safetv,'  v. hile  sudden 
destruction  was  coming  upon  them. 
'  There  was  never  so  strange  a  siege 
as  this  of  Jericho  :    here  was  no 


68 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


in  the  morning,  ^and  the  priests 
took  up  the  ark  of  the  Lord. 

13  And  seven  priests  bearing 
seven  trumpets  of  rams'  horns 
before  the  ark  of  the  Lord  went 
on  continually,  and  blew  with 
the  trumpets :  and  the  armed 
men  went  before  them  ;  but  the 
rere-ward  came  after  the  ark  of 
the  Lord,  the  priests  going  on, 
and  blowing  with  the  trumpets. 

14  And  the  second  day  they 
compassed    the   city  once,  and 

1"  Deut.  31.  25. 


mound  raised,  no  sword  drawTi,  no 
engine  planted,  no  pioneers  under- 
mining; here  were  trumpets  sound- 
ed, but  no  enemy  seen;  here  were 
armed  men,  but  no  stroke  given ; 
they  must  walk,  and  not  fight ;  seven 
several  days  must  they  pace  about 
the  walls,  which  they  may  not  once 
look  over  to  see  what  was  within. 
Doubtless  these  inhabitants  of  Jeri- 
cho made  themselves  merry  with 
this  sight.  When  they  had  stood 
six  days  on  their  walls,  and  beheld 
nothing  but  a  w^alking  enemy, 
"  What,"  say  they,  "  could  Israel  find 
no  walk  to  breathe  them  with,  but 
about  our  walls  7  Have  they  not 
travelled  enough  in  their  forty  years' 
pilgrimage,  but  they  must  stretch 
their  limbs  in  this  circle  1  We  see 
they  are  good  footmen,  but  when 
shall  we  try  their  hands'?  Do  these 
vain  men  think  Jericho  will  be  won 
by  looking  atl  Or  do  they  only 
come  to  count  how  many  paces  it  is 
about  our  city  ?  If  this  be  their  man- 
ner of  siege,  we  shall  have  no  great 
cause  to  fear  the  sword  of  Israel." 
Wicked  men  think  God  in  jest  when 
he  is  preparing  for  their  judgment.' 
Bp.  Hall. 


returned   into   the    camp.       So 
they  did  six  days. 

15  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the 
seventh  day,  that  they  rose  early 
about  the  dawning  of  the  day, 
and  compassed  the  city  after  the 
same  manner  seven  times  :  only 
on  that  day  they  compassed  the 
city  seven  times. 

16  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the 
seventh  time,  when  the  priests 
blew  with  the  trumpets,  Joshua 
said  unto  the  people.  Shout;  for 
the  Lord  hath  given  you  the  city. 


15.  The  severdh  day — tJiey  rose 
early.  Because  on  this  day  they  had 
to  encompass  the  city  seven  times;  a 
proof  that  the  city  could  not  have 
been  very  large,  and  al=o  that  the 
whole  Israelitish  host  could  not  have 
been  employed  in  going  round  it;  for 
as  the  fighting  men  alone  amounted 
to  600,000,  independently  of  the  mass 
of  the  people,  who  made  a  to::.]  of  at 
least  two  millions  more,  the  thing  is 
utterly  inconceivable.  A  select  num- 
ber, suflicient  for  the  occasion,  was 
doubtless  all  that  were  employed.  It 
is  evident  that  in  the  course  of  these 
seven  days  there  must  have  been  a 
sabbath.  This  the  Jewish  writers 
say  was  the  last,  the-  day  on  which 
the  city  was  taken  ;  but  this  is  not 
certain.  It  is  not  material,  however, 
which  day  it  w^as.  That  God,  who 
commanded  the  sabbath  to  be  .set 
apart  for  rest  and  religious  purposes, 
has  a  right  to  suspend  or  alter  the 
usual  modes  of  its  observance  when 
he  sees  fit,  and  his  command  is  suffi- 
cient to  make  any  action  lawful  at 
any  time. 

16.  Shout ;  for  the  Lord  hath  given 
you  the  city.  As  before  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  people  were  informed 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


69 


17  H'And  the-  city  shall  be  ^  ac- 
cursed, even  it,  and  all  that  are 
therein,  to  ihe  Lord  :  only  Ra- 
hab  the  harlot  shall  live,  she  and 
all  that  are  with  her  in  the  house, 
because  ^  she  hid  the  messengers 
that  we  sent. 

KLev.  27.  28.     Mic.  4.  13.     h  ch.  2.  4. 


how  they  were  to  cross  the  Jordan 
till  they  came  to  the  river's  brink,  so 
on  this  occasion  Joshua  seems  to 
have  forborne  telling  them  how  they 
were  to  become  masters  of  the  cityj 
till  they  had  compassed  it  six  times. 
Their  implicit  obedience  in  this,  as 
in  the  former  instance,  strikingly 
evinced  their  faith,  which  is  com- 
mended by  the  apostle,  Heb.  11.  30, 
'  By  faith  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell 
dovrn  after  they  were  compassed 
about  seven  days.' 

17.  And  the  city  shall  be  accxirsed. 
Heb.  S"in  nrT'n  hayithah  ^  her  em,  shall 
be  a  curse,  an  anathema  ;  i.  e.  devoted 
to  utter  destruction ;  no  spoils  were 
to  be  taken,  no  lives  to  be  spared, 
except  those  of  Rahab  and  her  fami- 
ly. All  was  to  be,  if  we  may  so  say, 
consecrated  to  a  curse.  For  an  ac- 
count of  the  'herem  or  anathema,  see 
on  Lev.  27.  21,  28,  29.  It  is  plain 
from  1  Kings,  16.  34,  that  Joshua 
spake  this  by  Divine  direction ;  and 
though  to  human  view  it  may  carry 
the  aspect  of  undue  severity,  yet  con- 
sidered as  the  enactment  of  Him 
whose  judgments  are  righteous  alto- 
gether, we  cannot  question  its  perfect 
equity.  Jericho  belonged  to  a  nation 
which  had  filled  up  the  measure  of 
its  iniquities,  and  its  guilt  was  pecu- 
liarly enhanced  by  reason  of  the 
amazing  display  of  divine  power 
which  it  had  recently  witnessed  and 


18  And  ye,  'in  any  wise  keep 
yourselves  from  the  accursed 
thing,  lest  ye  make  yourselves 
accursed,  when  ye  take  of  the 
accursed  thing,  and  make  the 
camp  of  Israel  a  curse,  ^  and  trou- 
ble it. 


i  Dent  7.  26,  and  13.  17.     ch.  7.  1,  11,  12. 

j  ch.  7.  25.    1  Kings  18.  17,  18.    Jonah  1.  12. 


against  which  it  had  hardened  itself. 
It  was  just,  therefore,  that  the  ven- 
geance taken  should  be  in  proportion 
to  the  light  resisted.  The  severe 
judgment  upon  Jericho,  moreover, 
would  tend  to  strike  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  rest  of  the  devo'ed  na- 
tions, and  make  them  an  easier  con- 
quest.  '^Only  Rahab  shall  live,  &c. 

The  Most  High  never  forgets  his 
people.  When  he  maketh  inquisition 
for  blood,  heremembereth  them,  who- 
ever else  may  be  overlooked. ^ 

Becaitse  she  hid.  The  original  has 
an  extraordinary  and  emphatic  form, 
implying  that  she  carefully  and  dili- 
gently hid  them. 

18.  In  o/ny  wise  keep  yourselves. 
That  is,  by  all  means,  most  carefully, 
studiously^  vigilantly.  This  city  was 
as  it  were,  the  first  fruits  of  Canaan, 
and  as  such  wholly  devoted  to  the 
Lord.  The  spoil  of  other  cities,  sub- 
sequently taken,  was  allowed  to  be 
divided  among  the  captors,  but  this 
was  to  be  an  exception  to  the  general 
rule. IF  And  make  the  camp  of  Is- 
rael a  curse.  Heb.  *  put,  or  place  the 
camp  a  curse.'  The  Heb.  v.  ord  for 
'  put '  has  often  the  signification  of 
'  make,  constitute,  render.'  The 
meaning  is,  that  they  would  thereby 
render  themselves  obnoxious  to  the 

curse  denounced  upon  the  city. 

^And  trouble  it.  Bring  distress  upon 
it  by  provoking  the  Divine  displeas- 


70 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


19  But  all  tlie  silver,  and  gold, 
and  vessels  of  brass  and  iron,  are 
consecrated  unto  tiie  Lord  : 
they  shall  come  into  the  treas- 
ury of  the  Lord. 

20  So  the  people  shouted  when 
the  priests  blew  with  the  trum- 
pets :  and  it  came  to  pass,  when 


ure,  and  interrupting  the  prosperous 
course  of  your  victories.  Heb.  'cri155' 
acharlcm,  from  1-2?  achar,  to  trouble. 
See  note  on  Gen.  31.  30,  31.  This  is 
spoken  as  if  in  foresight  of  the  sin  of 
Achan,  to  whom  Joshua  afterwards 
said  eh.  7.  25,  '  Wh)'  hasl  thou  trou- 
bled us ')  The  Lord  shall  trouble 
thee  this  day.'  From  hence  he  is 
called  Achar,  or  trouble.  1  Chron. 
2.7. 

19.  All  the  silver  and  gold.  Except 
those  portions  of  these  metals  which 
were  formed  into  idols  or  their  appen- 
dages, in  respect  to  which  the  law 
was  express,  Deut.  7.  25,  '  The  gra- 
ven images  of  their  gods  shall  ye 
burn  with  fire  :  thou  shall  not  desire 
the  silver  or  gold  that  is  on  them,  nor 
take  it  unto  thee,  lest  thou  be  snared 
therein ;  for  it  is  an  abomination  to 
the  Lord  thy  God.'    Comp.  \  Chron. 

14.    12. IT  Consecrated    uuto    the 

Lord.  Heb.  mn^'^  !!3"ip  kodesh  la- 
hovah,  holiness  to  the  Lord,  i.  e.  dedi- 
cated exclusively  to  him;  being  first 
Jegally  purified  by  passing  through 
the  fire,  according  to  the  ordinance, 

Num.  32.   21—23. IT  Shall  come 

into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord.  To  be 
employed  wholly  for  the  service  of 
the  sanctuary,  and  not  to  be  appro- 
priated in  any  manner  to  the  use  of 
any  private  person  or  priest.  The 
place  of  deposit  was  the  tabernacle 
of  the  congregation,  where  the  spoils 


the  people  heard  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  and  the  people  shout- 
ed with  a  great  shout,  that  Hhe 
wall  fell  down  flat,  so  that  the 
people  went  up  into  the  city, 
every  man  straight  before  him, 
and  they  took  the  city. 

kver.  5.     Heb.  11.  30 


of  the  Midianites  were  laid  up.  Num. 
31.  54. 

20.  So  the  people  shouted.  &c.  More 
literally  rendered  from  the  Heb.,  '  So 
the  people  shouted  and  blew  with  the 
trumpets  (i.  e.  the  priests  blew  in  the 
name  of  the  people.)  and  it  came  to 
pass  when  the  people  heard  the  sound 
of  the  trumpets,  that  the  people  shout- 
ed with  a  great  shout,  and  the  wall 
fell  down  flat,  and  the  people  went 
up,'  &c.  The  latter  clause  is  merely 
a  more  detailed  and  exact  account 
of  Avhat  is  contained  in  the  first. 
Probably  great  numbers  were  killed 
by  the  falling  of  the  wall.  We  are 
not  warranted,  perhaps,  to  speak  of 
this  event  as  typical.  Nevertheless 
it  was  doubtless  intended  to  convey 
most  important  in.struction  to  all  suc- 
ceeding ages.  It  was  peculiarly  cal- 
culated to  show  how  easily  God  can 
make  a  way  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  own  purposes,  and  for  the  sal- 
vation of  his  people.  If  it  did  not 
typify,  it  certainly  well  illustrates, 
the  victories  which  the  gospel  was 
to  obtain  over  all  the  principalities 
and  powers  of  earth  and  hell.  No 
human  force  was  to  be  used.  Nothing 
but  the  simple  announcement  of  the 
truth,  and  that  by  the  instrumentality 
of  weak  and  sinful  men — men  un- 
learned, unskilled  in  logic,  and  un- 
furnished with  eloquence — was  the 
means  chosen  for  the  destruction  of 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   VI. 


71 


21  And  they  '  utterly  destroyed 
all  that  icas  in  the  city,  both 
man  and  woman,  young  and  old, 
and  ox,  and  sheep,  and  ass, 
with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

22  But  Jo.shua  had  said  unto 

1  Deut.  7.  2. 


idolatry,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  over  the  earth. 
Yel  how  mighiily  has  the  bare  sound 
of  the  gospel  trumpet  prevailed  for 
the  overthrow  of  Satan's  empire  in 
the  world !' 

21.  And     they    utterly    destroyed. 
Heb.    ITi"'*)!''    ya'harimu,   viade    a 

curse,    devoted     to     destruction. 

IT  Both  man  and  woman,  young  and 
old,  &c.  In  all  this  the  Israelites 
ac:ed  strictly  according  to  their 
orders,  Deut.  20.  16,  17,  so  that  what- 
ever charge  of  cruelty  or  barbarity 
may  be  brought  against  them  in  view 
of  their  conduct  on  this  occasion,  it 
strikes  directly  at  the  rectitude  of  the 
Divi-ne  judgments.  That  the  Ca- 
naanires  were  a  nation  of  incorrigible 
idolaters,  whose  morals,  from  the 
most  re  mole  periods,  were  polluted 
to  the  utmost  degree,  we  have  the 
highest  autbori.y  for  asserting.  Had 
Jehovah,  after  bearing  with  such  a 
people  for  no  less  than  four  centuries, 
sent  upon  them  at  last  a  famine  or  a 
pestilence,  and  cut  them  oiT  from  the 
face  of  the  earth,  who  could  deny 
that  he  had  acted  with  perfect  justice  1 
Had  he  again  caused  fire  to  fall  upon 
them  from  heaven,  or  overwhelmed 
them  by  the  waters  of  a  flood,  the 
same  admission  must  have  been 
made.  Why  then  should  it  be  urged 
that  he  acted  in  opposition  to  any  one 
of  his  known  attributes,  because  he 
let  loose  anoih  I  of  his  judgments 
upon  them,  namel}'^  war  1    For  sucli, 


the  two  men  that  had  spied  out 
the  country.  Go  into  the  harlot's 
house,  and  bring  out  thence  the 
woman  and  all  that  she  hath, 
""  as  ye  sware  unto  her. 
23  And  the  young   men  that 

"1  ch  2.  14.     Heb.  11.  31. 

as  far  as  they  were  afiected,  was 
really  the  case.  The  Israelites  were 
towards  them  neither  more  nor  less 
than  instruments  of  punishment  in 
the  hands  of  the  great  Ruler  of  the 
universe,  who  chose  to  slay  them  by 
the  edge  of  the  sw^ord,  rather  than 
by  eardiquakes,  famine,  or  plague. 
Towards  the  Canaanites  themselves, 
we  must  admit  that  there  was  great 
severity  in  the  order  for  their  exter- 
mination. But  there  \vas  goodness 
in  it,  yea  great  goodness,  towards  the 
world  at  large ;  for  it  has  shown  the 
danger  of  unbelief  and  impeni  ence 
in  such  awful  colors,  that  the  proud- 
est and  most  obdurate  must  tremble. 
If  it  be  urged  that  to  subject  women 
and  unoffending  children  to  the  hor- 
rors of  war,  is  inconsistent  with  our 
ideas  of  Divine  justice,  we  reply, 
that  the  very  same  observation  might 
be  made  in  the  case  of  a  plague  or  a 
deluge.  In  all  public  calamities  in- 
fants are  involved,  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands die  in  great  agony  every  year. 
If  God  is  the  agent  in  these  calami- 
ties, they  must  consist  with  the  most 
perfect  justice  and  goodness,  and  on 
the  same  ground  is  the  present  order, 
fearful  as  it  was,  to  be  vindicated. 

22.  Go  into  the  harlofs  house. 
Which  had  been  miraculously  pre- 
served in  the  general  overthrow. 

23.  The  young  men.  These  per 
sons  have  all  along  hitherto  been 
called  simply  '  men,'  and  no  inti- 
mation given  of  their  having  been 


12 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


were  spies  went  in,  and  brought 
out  Rahab,  "and  her  father,  and 
her  mother,  and  her  brethren, 
and  all  that  she  had ;  and  they 
brought  out  all  her  kindred,  and 
left  them  without  the  camp  of 
Israel. 

24  And  they  burnt  the  city 
with  fire,  and  all  that  was  there- 
in :  •  only  the  silver,  and  the 
gold,  and  the  vessels  of  brass 

n  ch.  2.  13.     o  ver.  19. 

yottng.  For  an  explanation  of  the 
Scriptural  import  of  the  phrase 
*  young  men,'  see  Note  on  Gen.  14. 

2-4. fl  All    her    kindred.       Heb. 

iT^mri^riJ^D  miskpe^hoiheyah^  all  her 

families. IT  And  left  them  withoiit 

the  camp — and  made  them  to  stay  or 
abide,  till  they  were  cleansed  from 
the  impurities  of  their  Gentile  super- 
stition, and  prepared,  by  suitable  in- 
struction, for  admission  as  proselytes 
into  the  Israelitish  church. 

25.  Saved  alive.  Heb.  fT^nn  hehe- 
yah,  vivified,  made  to  live.  The 
usage  of  the  original  is  peculiar.  It 
seems  to  imply  that  Rahab  and  her 
kindred  were  as  good  as  dead,  that 
they  had  virtually  perished  in  the 
general  destruction,  but  by  being  pre- 
served through  it,  had  had,  as  it  were, 
their  lives  restored  to  them.  See  the 
JNote  on  Pharaoh's  being  preserved, 

Ex.  9.  14-16. ^  Dwelldh  in  Israel 

even  unto  this  day.  Heb.  '2^p'2 
'^ii.luj'^  bekereb  Yisrdel,  in  the  midst  of 
Israel,  i.  e.  as  a  communicant  and  par- 
t:;ker  of  all  the  distinguishing  priv- 
ilegrs  of  the  chosen  seed.  It  is,  how- 
ever, contended  by  Ma  sius  and  others, 
that  this  p]  rase  implies  that  Rahab 
lived  in  her  posterity  in  the  midst  of 
Israel,  and  that  this  clause  was  added 
by  Ezra  or  some  late  reviser  of  the 


and  of  iron,  they  put  into  the 
treasury  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord. 

25  And  Joshua  saved  Rahab 
the  harlot  alive,  and  her  father's 
household,  and  all  that  she  had  ; 
and  Pshe  dwelleth  in  Israel  even 
unto  this  day  ;  because  she  hid 
the  messengers  which  Joshua 
sent  to  spy  out  Jericho. 

p  See  Matt.  1.  5. 


history,  Rahab  married  Salmon, 
the  son  of  Nahshon,  a  prince  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  and  thus  became  one 
of  the   ancestors   of  David  and  of 

Christ.      Mat.   1.    5. IT  Unto  this 

day.  A  strong  proof  that  the  book 
was  written  m  or  7tcar  the  tivie  to 
which  it  refers,  and  in  all  probability 

by  Joshua  himself. II  Because  she 

hid  the  messengers.  This  is  repealed, 
as  if  the  spirit  of  inspiration  delight- 
ed to  dwell  on  the  act  which  re- 
dounded so  signally  to  her  credit  and 
to  her  salvation.  God  takes  pleasure 
in  reciting  the  good  deeds  of  his 
people. — From  the  various  particu- 
lars recorded  in  the  sacred  narrative 
respecting  Rahab,  we  may  learn, 
(1)  That  there  is  no  person  so  vile 
but  that  he  may  become  an  eminent 
saint.  Would  that  all  abandoned 
women  in  the  world  might  hear  of 
the  mercy  shown  towards  this  harlot 
of  Jericho  !  Despised  and  oiitcast  as 
they  are  by  their  fellow-creature', 
would  that  they  knew  Avhat  compas- 
sion for  them  exists  in  the  bosom  of 
God!  They  usually  persist  in  their 
wickedness,  through  an  utter  despair 
of  obtaining  the  mercy  and  grace 
which  they  need.  But  here  they 
might  see  that  there  was  hope  for  the 
vilest  of  the  vile.     (2)  Faith,  if  gen- 


B.  C.  1451/ 


CHAPTER  VL 


73 


26  ^  And  Joshua  adjured  them 
at  that  thne,  saying,  'J  Cursed  he 
the  man  before  the  Lord,  that 
riseth  up  and  buildeth  this  city 


I  Kings  16.  34. 


uine,  will  uniformly  produce  good 
works.  (3)  Whatever  we  do  for 
God  or  for  his  people,  because  they 
are  his  people,  shall  most  assuredly 
be  richly  rewarded, 

28,  Joshua  adjured  them.  Made 
them  to  swear,  caused  them  to  bind 
themselves  by  a  solemn  oath,  con- 
firmed by  an  imprecation  upon  them- 
selves and  their  posterity,  if  they 
broke  it,  that  they  would  never  re- 
build the  city.  This  he  did,  not  on  his 
own  responsibility,  but  by  a  Divine 
impulse,  1  Kings  16.  34.  From  the 
remarkable  manner  in  which  Jericho 
was  taken  and  destroyed,  it  appears 
to  have  been  the  design  of  God  to 
preserve  such  a  memorial  of  the 
event,  as  would  teach  to  the  latest 
posterity,  his  detestation  of  idolatry 
and  the  vices  that  grow  out  of  it. 
Accordingly  Joshua  here  adjures 
the  people  by  a  solemn  oath,  and 
binds  it  upon  them  and  their  poster- 
ity, to  leave  the  ruins  of  the  city  as 
a  perpetual  warning  to  after  ages 
against  the  commission  of  those 
crimes.  It  would  thus  serve  also  as 
a  precaution  to  Israel  to  abstain  from 
worshiping  the  idol  deities  of  the  sur- 
rounding nations. IT  Cursed  be  the 

man  before  the  Lord.  That  is,  from 
God's  presence  and  by  his  sentence. 
Thus  Joshua  is  said,  ch.  18. 8,  to  have 
'■  cast  lots  before  the  Lord,'  i.  e.  as 
under  his  sanction  and  expecting  the 
decision  from  him.  This  was  what 
gave  its  terror  to  the  penalty.  As  to 
what  is  implied  in  the  curse  of  God, 

see  on  Gen.  3.  14. ^  That  riseth 

7 


Jericho  :  he  shall  lay  the  foun- 
dation thereof  in  his  first-born, 
and  in  his  youngest  son  shall  he 
set  up  the  gates  of  it. 


up  and  buildeth.  That  is,  that  at- 
tempts to  build,  that  enters  upon  the 
work  of  building,  that  engages  in  it. 
This  is  often  the  sense  of '  rise '  in  the 
sacred  writers.  The  denunciation  is 
here  limited  to  the  builder,  and  ex- 
tends not  to  those  who  should  inhabit 
the  city  after  it  was  built,  for  that  it 
was  subsequently  rebuilt  and  inhabit- 
ed is  evident.    See  below. IT  Shall 

lay  the  foundation  tli^rcqf  in  his  first- 
born, &c.  That  is,  shall  lose  all  his 
children  in  the  interval  between  lay- 
ing the  foundation  and  completing 
the  walls ;  he  shall,  as  it  were,  lay 
the  first  stone  on  the  dead  body  of  his 
eldest  son,  and  the  last  on  that  of  his 
youngest.  This  is  said  to  have 
been  fulfilled  in  Hiel,  the  Bethelite, 
1  Kings  16.  34,  who  rebuilt  Jericho 
in  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  and  '  laid  the 
foundation  thereof  in  Abiram,  his 
first-born,  and  set  up  the  gates  thereof 
in  his  3^oungest  son  Segub.'  This 
was  550  years  after  the  utterance  of 
the  curse.  The  city  does  not  appear, 
however,  to  have  lain  in  ruins  during 
the  whole  period  from  Joshua  to 
Hiel,  at  least  if  the  'city  of  palm 
trees,'  mentioned  Deut.  34.  3,  be,  as 
is  generally  supposed,  the  same  with 
Jericho,  for  we  find  this  an  inhabited 
place  in  the  beginning  of  Judges, 
ch.  1.  16,  a  short  time  after  the  death 
of  Joshua,  and  the  same  city  appears 
to  have  been  taken  from  the  Israel- 
ites by  Eglon,  king  of  Moab,  Judg. 
3.  13.  Moreover,  the  ambassadors 
of  David,  who  were  maltreated  by 
Hanan,    king    of    the  Ammonites, 


74 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


27  'So  the  Lord  was  with 
Joshua;  and  4iis  fame  was  nois- 
ed throughout  all  the  country. 


B 


CHAPTER  VII. 

UT  the   children  of  Israel 
committed  a  trespass  in  the 


ch.  1.  5.    s  ch.  9.  1.  3. 


were  commanded  to  tarr\^  at  Jericho 
till  their  beards  were  grown,  2  Sam. 
10.  4.  5.  It  appears,  therefore,  that 
there  was  a  city  which  went  under 
this  name  long  before  the  time  of 
Hie),  unless  it  be  supposed  that  the 
'  city  of  palm  trees '  was  a  different 
place  from  the  ancient  Jericho, 
though  standing  in  its  neighborhood, 
and  sometimes  called  by  its  name, 
which  we  think  not  improbable,  espe- 
cially as  Josephus  speaks  of  the  site 
of  the  old  city  of  Jericho,  as  if  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  a  more  modern  one. 
27.  The  Lord  was  v-ith  Joshua,  &c. 
That  is,  by  his  powerful  aid,  giving 
him  miraculous  assistance  magnify- 
ing him  and  raising  his  reputation, 
making  him  acceptable  to  Israel,  and 
formidable  to  the  Canaanites.  '  No- 
thing can  more  raise  a  man's  reputa- 
tion, nor  make  him  appear  more  truly 
great,  than  to  have  the  evidence  of 
God's  presence  with  him.'     Henry. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
1.  Committed  a  trespass.  Heb. 
^5>3  '\'y$ty^  yimmelu  maal,  had  pre- 
varicated a  prevarication.  The  sin 
of  an  individual  is  imputed  to  the 
whole  people.  This  is  on  the  ground 
of  the  constituted  oneness  of  social 
and  ecclesiastical  bodies.  A  people, 
properly  speaking,  is  but  one  moral 
person.  See  note  on  ch.  1.  12.  In 
like  manner.  Mat,  26.  8,  it  is  said, 
that  '  the  disciples  had  indignation, 


accursed  thing  :  for  "  Achan,  the 
son  of  Carmi,  the  son  of  Zabdi^ 
the  son  of  Zerah,  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  took  of  the  accursed 
thing  ;  and  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
was  kindled  against  the  children 
of  Israel. 

ach.22.  20.     1  Chron.  2.  6. 7. 


saying,  To  what-  purpose  is  this 
waste  V  Whereas  ij:on\  John,  12.  4, 
5,  it  appears  that  it  was  Judas  only 
who  made  this  remark. — No  man,  in 
.«:inning,  can  be  sure  that  the  conse- 
quences will  stop  with  himself.  For 
aught  he  knows,  they  may  a  fleet  the 
whole  extent  of  his  relations;  and 
this  ought  to  make  us  watchful  both 
over  ourselves  and  others,  that  we 
neirher  commit  nor  countenance 
deeds  that  may  spread  desolation  over 
the  bosom  of  a  whole  community. 
Ch.  22.  20,  'Did  not  Achan,  the  son 
of  Zerah,  commit  a  trespass  on  the 
accursed  thing,  and  wrath  fell  on  all 
the  congregation  of  Israel  V  '  So  ve- 
nomous is  sin,  especially  when  it 
lights  among  God's  people,  that  one 
drachm  of  it  is  able  to  infect  the  whole 

mass  of  Israel.'  Bp.  Hall. ^la  the 

accursed  thing.  In  respect  to  the  ac- 
cursed, or  devoted,  thing;  in  taking  a 
portion  of  the  spoils  of  the  city,  the 
Avhole  of  which  God  had  commanded 
to  be  either  destroyed  or  dedicated  to 
the  sanctuary.  Gr.  koX  evnrT<piaravro 
(iTTd  Tov  dvadqiuTog.  and  have  set  apait 
for  themselves  some  of  the  anathema. 

'![ Achan,  the  son  of  Carmi.    This 

Achan  is  elsewhere  called  Achar, 
trouble  or  the  trouhlcr.  undoubtedly  in 
allusion  to  the  effect  of  his  conduct 
on  this  occasion.  See  on  v.  25  and 
ch.  6.  18.  In  like  manner  Bethel, 
house  of  God,  is  called  Bethaven, 
house  of  vanity,  Hos.  4. 15,  on  account 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   VII. 


75 


2  And  Joshua  sent  men  from 
Jericho  to  Ai,  which  is  beside 
Beth-aven,  on  the  east  side  of 
Beth-ei,  and  spake  unto  them, 
saying,  Go  up  and  view  the 
country.  And  the  men  went 
up  and  viewed  Ai. 


of  the  idolatry  practised  there.  No- 
thing is  more  common  in  t.he  Scrip- 
tures, than  for  the  names  of  persons 
and  places  to  be  changed  in  conse- 
quence of,  and  in  allusion  to,  certain 
remarkable   events  by    which   they 

may   have   been    distinguished. 

IT  Son  of  Zabdi.  Called  also  Zimri, 
1  Chron.  2.  6.  The  line  of  his  parent- 
age is  thus  reci.ed,  among  other  rea- 
sons, that  the  discredit  of  such  a  foul 
deed  might  be  reflected  back  upon 
those  of  his  ancestors  who,  by  being 
remiss  in  their  duties  as  parents,  had 
been,  in  one  sense,  the  procuring 
cause  of  his  sin.  This  is  not  an  un- 
common occurrence  in  the  sacred 
writings.  It  seems  to  have  been  with 
a  similar  design,  that  the  genealogy 
of  Zimri  is  given,  Num.  25.  14.  In 
like  manner  the  praise  of  the  excel- 
lence of  a  son  redounds  to  the  honor 
of  the  line  from  which  he  springs.  A 
warning  is  hereby  administered  to 
parents,  to  give  the  most  diligent 
heed  in  training  their  offspring  in  the 
fear  of  God  lest  they  be  a  reproach 
to  their  memories  when  they  them- 
selves are  no  more. 

2.  Sent  vien  from  Jericho  to  Ai. 
Called  also  Hai,  Gen.  12.  8,  and  Aija, 
Nell.  11.  31,  a  city  near  the  northern 
limit  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  about 
ten  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  and 
nearly  two  east  of  Bethel.  After  its 
destruction  by  Joshua,  it  was  again  re- 
built by  the  Benjamites  and  inhab- 
ited by  them  till  the  captivity.    Sen- 


3  And  they  returned  to  Josh- 
ua, and  said  unto  him.  Let  not 
all  the  people  go  up ;  but  let 
about  two  or  three  thousand 
men  go  up  and  smite  Ai :  and 
make  not  all  the  people  to  labor 
thither  ;  for  they  are  but  few. 

nacherib  at  length  destroyed  it,  but 
though  it  was  rebuilt  after  the  Bab}'- 
lonish  captivity,  there  is  no  vestige 
of  it  to  be  found  at  the  present  time. 
Even  in  the  fourth  century,  the  ruins 
of  this  city  were  scarcely  visible. 
The  spies  sent  on  this  occasion  were 
not  to  go  into  the  city,  but  merely  in- 
to its  vicinity,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 

connoitering. H  Beside  Beih-aven 

This  was  a  city  of  Benjamin,  about 
three  miles  north  of  Ai,  and  nearly 
six  miles  east  of  Bethel,  which  gave 
name  to  the  wilderness  adjoining,  ch. 
18.  12.  It  was  not  the  place  called 
Beth-aven,  Hos.  10.  5.     See  on  v.  1. 

IT  Go  up  and  vieio  the  country. 

Heb.  linil  1^3>  alu  veraggelu,  go 
v^  and  foot  the  country.  So  after- 
wards '  and  viewed,'  Heb.  I^^l"!  ye~ 
raggelu,  and  footed. 

3.  Let  not  all  the  people  go  up,  &c. 
The  easy  conquest  of  Jericho  had 
probably  rendered  the  people  pre- 
sumptuous. They  concluded  that 
God  would  of  course  interpose  for 
them  just  as  he  had  done  before.  The 
counsel  here  given  was  based,  as  it 
would  seem,  upon  a  culpable  assur- 
ance of  success  in  the  neglect  of  the 
proper  means.  To  confide  in  God 
was  right ;  but  to  expect  his  aid  while 
they  neglected  to  use  their  own  en- 
deavors, was  nothing  short  of  down- 
right presumption.  So  prone  is  hu- 
man nature  to  extremes.  The  first 
spies  that  were  sent  out  by  Moses 
brought  back  the  most  disheartening 


76 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


4  So  there  went  up  thither  of 
the  people  about  three  thousand 
men  :  ^  and  they  fled  before  the 
men  of  Ai. 

5  And  the  men  of  Ai  smote 

b  Lev.  26.  17.     Dcut.  23.  25. 


report.  The  Canaanites  were  invin- 
cible, and  they  would  surely  fall  be- 
fore them.  Those  sent  to  Ai  were 
as  much  on  the  other  extreme.  Their 
enemies  are  contemptible,  and  they 
can  easily  carry  all  before  them. 
Even  Joshua  himself  seems  to  have 
formed  his  measures  without  taking 
the  usual  precaution  of  consulting 
God  as  to  his  duty.  The  result 
showed  that  they  should  at  least  have 
had  some  intimation  from  heaven, 
that  a  part  of  the  force  was  to  be  dis- 
pensed with  in  this  instance.  But 
the  truth  is,  they  were  now  under  the 
Divine  displeasure ;  sin  unrepenied 
had  interrupted  the  communications 
of  God's  will,  and  where  that  is  the 
case  with  a  people  or  an  individual, 
all  goes  ioro7ig.  No  one  can  have  se- 
curity that  he  is  planning  or  acting 
right,  while  the  light  of  the  Lord's 
countenance  is  hidden  by  sin.  The 
pledge  of  the  Divine  blessing  is  want- 
ing, and  he  is  not  to  be  surprised  if 
all  his  counsels  are  carried  headlong. 

"H  Make  not  all  the  people  to  labor 

thither.  That  is,  to  labor  and  fatigue 
themselves  by  going  thither,  probably 
implying  the  ascent  of  a  mountain- 
ous region  ;  an  advice  by  which  they 
obviously  consulted  the  ease  rather 
than  the  safety  or  glory  of  the  people. 
It  is  perhaps  in  allusion  to  this  inci- 
dent, that  Solomon  says,  Eccles.  10. 
15,  '  The  labor  of  the  foolish  v:mrielh 
every  one  of  them,  because  he  know- 

eth  not  how  to  go  to  the  city.' -. 

IT  For  they  are  but  f  w.     On  which 


of  them  about  thirty  and  six 
men  :  for  they  chased  them/rowi 
before  the  gate  even  unto  She- 
barim,  and  smote  them  in  the 
going   down :    wherefore    "  the 

cell.  2.  9.11.    Lev.  26.36.    Ps.  22.  14. 


Henry  well  remarks,  that  'few  as 
they  were,  they  were  too  many  for 
them.'  It  appears  from  ch.  8.  25,  that 
Joshua  slew  in  one  day,  twelve  thou- 
sand of  the  citizens  of  Ai,  and  yet 
the  spies  reported  the  place  meanly 
garrisoned,  and  proposed  to  send 
against  it  only  a  detachment  of  two 
or  three  thousand ! 

5.  Chased  them — even  unto  Sheba- 
rim.  Heb.  Q^i^am  hash-shebdrim, 
to  the  breaches,  br caking s^  or  shiver- 
ing s ;  so  called  probably  from  the 
event,  because  the  ranks  of  the  Isra- 
elites were  utterly  broken  and  the  peo- 
ple, panic-struck,  fled  in  the  utmost 

confusion. IT  Smote   them  in    the 

going  doivn.  That  is,  in  the  descent 
or  declivity  of  the  hill  on  M-hich  the 
town  stood.  The  eflect  of  this  defeat 
M'Ould  naturally  be  (1)  to  serve  as  an 
evidence  of  God's  displeasure,  and  a 
solemn  call  upon  them  to  humble 
themselves  under  his  mighty  hand, 
and  institute  a  rigid  self-examination 
to  discover  if  possible  the  cause  of  so 
sad  a  reverse.  (2)  To  harden  the 
Canaanites  and  make  them  more  se- 
cure than  ever  in  their  sins,  prompt- 
ing them  to  say  of  Israel,  as  the  ene- 
mies of  David  said  of  him,  Ps.  71. 
11,  '  God  hath  forsaken  him;  perse- 
cute and  take  him,  for  there  is  none 
to  deliver  him.'  Thus  their  ruin, 
when  it  came,  would  be  the  more 
dreadful.  The  Christian  may  derive 
some  profitable  hints  from  this  narra- 
tive as  to  the  conduct  of  the  warfare 
in  which  he  is  engaged.    Nolwith- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   VII. 


77 


hearts  of  the  people  melted,  and 
became  as  water. 

6  IT  And  Joshua  *^rent  his 
clothes,  and  fell  to  the  earth 
upon  his  face  before  the  ark  of 
the  Lord  until  the  even-tide,  he 

d  Gen.  37.  29,  34. 

Standing  the  Canaan  which  he  seeks 
is  the  gift  of  God,  yet  it  must  be  ob- 
tained by  a  manly  and  continued 
conflict  with  our  spiritual  enemies. 
He  must  not  despise  any  as  too  weak, 
nor  fear  any  as  too  strong.  As  to 
the  weak  especially,  he  should  re- 
member that  there  is  none  so  weak 
but  he  will  be  able  to  overcome  us  if 
we  indulge  a  careless  habit,  or  con- 
fide  in  an  arm  of  flesh. IT  The 

Jiearts  of  the  people  melted  mid  became 
as  loater.  That  is,  were  utterly  dis- 
couraged. Thus  the  very  effect 
which  was  threatened  to  be  produced 
on  the  devoted  nations  by  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Israelites,  was  now  in 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God 
wrought  in  the  hearts  of  his  own 
sinning  people.  See  on  Ex.  15.  15 ; 
Josh.  2.  9,  11. 

6.  Joshua  rent  his  clothes.  A  usual 
mode,  among  the  ancients,  of  ex- 
pressing the  highest  degree  of  sor- 
row or  grief  See  my  Illustrations  of 
the  Scriptures,  p.  156.  It  was  not  so 
much  the  defeat  itself  as  the  un- 
doubted though  unknown  guilty 
cause  of  it  that  distressed  Joshua.  It 
showed  evidently  that,  for  some  rea- 
son or  other,  the  Lord's  hand  was 
turned  against  them,  as  otherwise  it 
would  not  have  been  possible  for  the 

enemy  to  have  prevailed. '^  Until 

even  tide.  Thus  spending  the  wliole 
day  in  fasting  and  prayer.  We  can- 
not but  highly  applaud  the  conduct 
of  Joshua  on  this  occasion.  The 
7* 


and  the  elders   of  Israel,   and 
^put  dust  upon  their  heads. 

7  And  Joshua  said,  Alas  !  O 
Lord  God,  *^wherefore  hast  thou 
at  all  brought  this  people  over 


e  1  Sam.  4.  12.  2 
Neh.  9. 1.  Job  2. 12. 
3.10. 


Sam.  1.  2,  and  13.  19. 
fExod.  5.22.    2  Kings 


concern  he  expressed  for  the  loss  of 
so  many  lives  evinced  a  lieart  full 
of  tender  and  generous  sympathies. 
Common  generals  would  hav^e  ac- 
counted the  loss  of  thirty-six  men  as 
nothing ;  but  th.e  blood  of  Israel  was 
precious  in  the  sight  of  Joshua. 
We  might  have  expected,  too,  that 
he  Avould  have  blamed  the  spies  for 
deceiving  him  in  relation  to  the 
strength  of  the  city ;  and  have  pun- 
ished the  soldiers  for  cowardice  ; 
but  he  viewed  the  hand  of  God,  ra- 
ther than  of  man  in  this  disaster ;  and 
this  led  to  what  all  must  admire,  his 
deep  humiliation  before  God.  But 
his  tender  regard  for  the  honor  of 
the  Divine  "Yiame  was  that  which 
eminently  distinguished  him  on  this 
occasion  ;  '  O  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
do  unto  thy  great  name  V  This  was 
the  plea  which  Moses  had  often  used, 
and  to  which  God  had  paid  especial 
regard ;  and  the  man  that  feels  it  in 
his  soul,  and  urges  it  in  sincerity  and 
truth,  can  never  be  ultimately  foiled. 

^  Put    dust    upon   their   heads. 

Rending  the  clothes,  beating  the 
breast,  tearing  the  hair,  putting  dust 
on  the  head,  and  falling  down  pros- 
trate, have  always  been  among  East- 
ern nations  the  usual  marks  of  deep 
affliction  and  distress. 

7.  Wherefore  hast  thoti  brought  this 
people,  &c.  Heb.  ^^^'$n  ninyn  he- 
abarta  haabir,  passing,  caused  to 
pass,  i.  e,  by  a  most  stupendous  mir- 
acle.    This  prayer  of  Joshua  ap- 


78 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


Jordan,  to  deliver  us  into^  the 
hand  of  the  Amorites,  to  de- 
stroy us  ?  would  to  God  we  had 
been  content,  and  dwelt  on  the 
other  side  Jordan ! 


pears  at  first  view  to  have  been 
prompted  by  a  murmuring,  com- 
plaining spirit  very  much  akin  to 
that  manifested  by  the  children  of 
Israel  on  several  occasions,  in  the 
wilderness.  Ex.  14.  11,  12;  16.  3; 
Num.  14.  3.  Taken  according  to  the 
letter  it  has  an  air  of  bold  and  rather 
irreverent  remonstrance,which  would 
not  have  been  expected  from  the 
pious  Captain  of  Israel,  especially  in 
a  season  of  fasting  and  prayer,  when 
he  appears  to  have  been  most  pro- 
foundly humbled.  But  much  of  this, 
undoubtedly,  arises  from  the  diffi- 
culty of  transfusing  the  precise  im- 
port of  the  original  into  English. 
The  expressions  '  to  deliver,'  '  to  de- 
stroy,' according  to  a  very  common 
idiom,  imply  not  the  design,  but  sim- 
ply the  eve?it.  Joshua  would  not  in- 
timate that  God  had  led  the  people 
into  Canaan  with  the  express  inten- 
tion of  delivering  them  into  the;  hands 
of  their  enemies,  but  he  humbly  in- 
quires why  he  had  permitted  an  oc- 
currence that  seemed  likely  to  issxie 
in  such  an  event,  one  entirely  foreign 
to  the  original  purpose.  Before  the 
phrase  '  would  to  God,'  &c.,  the  word 
'  and  '  occurs  in  the  Hebrew,  which 
is  totally  disregarded  by  our  trans- 
lators, requiring  the  sentence  to  be 
filled  out  by  some  such  addition  as 
this  : — *  to  destroy  us,  and  (to  cause 
us  to  say)  would  to  God  we  had  been 
content,'  &c.  It  is  as  if  he  should 
say  ; — '  Should  thy  promises,  O  Lord 
God,  now  fail  of  accomplishment  on 
account  of  our  sin,  the  great  miracle 


8  O  Lord,  what  shall  I  say, 
when  Israel  turneth  their  backs 
before  their  enemies  ! 

9  For  the  Canaanites,  and  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land  shall 


thou  hast  wrought  in  bringing  us 
over  Jordan  would  seem  to  be  una- 
vailing, and  all  thy  past  mercies 
abortive.  To  all  human  view  it 
would  have  been  better  for  us  to  have 
remained  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan, 
and  we  shall  be  strongly  prompled  to 
wish  that  that  had  been  the  case,  for 
it  will  be  inferred  from  the  event, 
that  thy  sole  purpose  in  bringing  us 
hither,  was  to  deliver  us  into  the 
hands  of  the  Amorites  for  our  de- 
struction, rather  than  to  deliver  them 
into  our  hands.'  This  we  have  no 
doubt  is  the  real  drift  of  Joshua's  ex- 
postulation, and  as  nothing  in  the 
answer  which  God  makes  to  him 
carries  the  air  of  reprehension  or  re- 
buke, we  see  no  reason  to  tliink  that 
any  thing  of  the  kind  was  merited. 
His  words  were  evidently  prompted 
by  the  most  commendable  feelings. 
He  felt  for  the  thousands  of  Israel 
whom  he  considered  as  abandoned 
to  destruction.  He  felt^  too,  for  the 
glory  of  God,  for  he  knew  that  should 
Israel  be  destroyed,  God's  great  name 
would  be  blasphemed  among  the  hea- 
then. He  therefore  uses  an  argu- 
ment based  perhaps  on  the  very 
words  of  God  himself,  Deut.  32.  27, 
*  Were  it  not  that  1  feared  the  wrath 
of  the  enemy,  lest  their  adversaries 
should  behave  themselves  strangely, 
and  lest  they  should  say,'  &c. 

8.  What  shall  I  say,  &c.  Heb. 
'  what  shall  I  say  after  (i.  e.  since, 
or  seeing  that)  Israel  hath  turned  the 
neck  before  his  enemies.'  What 
construction  shall  I  put  upon  it,  or 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


79 


hear  ofit^  and  shall  environ  us 
round,  and  ^cat  off  our  name 
iioni  the  earth  :  and  ''  what  wilt 
thou  do  unto  thy  great  name  ? 

10  "TT  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Joshua,  Get  thee  up  ;  wherefore 
liest  thou  thus  upon  thy.  face  ? 

i?  Ps.  83. 4.    h  See  Ex.  32.  12.   Num.  14. 13. 


how  shall  I  answer  the  reproaches 
and  taunts  of  thine  enemies,  when 
Israel,  thine  own  people,  for  whom 
tho-u  hast  done  such  great  things, 
and  to  whom  thou  hast  made  such 
glorious  promises,  when  they  turn 
their  backs  in  ignoble  flight  before 
their  enemies  !  He  speaks  as  one 
at  a  loss  what  to  think  of  the  unhap- 
py event  that  had  just  occurred  ;  as 
i(  nothing  more  strange  or  marvel- 
Joiis  could  have  happened  than  the  de- 
feat of  the  cho.-en  people. 

9.  Wlcat  ivilt  thou  do  to  thy  great 
name?  i.  e.,  AVhat  wiltihoudo  in  re- 
spect to  thy  great  name  1  How  wilt 
'hou  preserve  its  glory  unstained 
when  such  a  flood  of  obloquy  shall  be 
poured  upon  it  by  the  scoffing  heathen? 
The  cutiing  off  of  our  name,  though 
that  would  vastly  disparage  thy  power 
and  faithfulness,  yet  that  is  a  matter 
of  less  consequence ;  but,  O  Lord, 
how  wilt  thou  consult  the  honor  of 
thine  own  blessed  and  glorious  name, 
were  such  an  advantage  to  be  given 
to  the  adversary  1  Comp.  Ex.  32. 13 ; 
Num.  14.  1.3 ;  Joel  2.  27. 

10.  Get  thee  up.     Heb,  '^^  tp  kum 

laic,  rise,  or  stand  up  for  thyself. 

^  Wherefore  liest  thou  thus  upon  thy 
face?  Heb.  'wherefore  this,  (that) 
thou  an  falling  down  upon  thy  face  V 
i.  e.  continuing  to  fall,  doing  it  again 
and  again.  Not  the  language  of  re- 
buke, as  though  God  were  displeased 
with  Joshua  for  prostrating  himself 


1 1  '  Israel  hath  sinned,  and  they 
have  also  transgressed  my  cove- 
nant which  I  commanded  them  : 
''for  they  have  even  taken  of  the 
accursed    thing,   and  have  also 


stolen,  and 


dissembled  also,  and 


ver.  1.    k  ch.  6.  17,  la    i  See  Act.s  5. 1, 2. 


in  this  humble  posture,  and  bemoan- 
ing in  bitterness  of  soul  the  disaster 
that  had  befallen  Israel ;  but  merely 
implying  that  it  was  now  enough ; 
that  God  would  not  have  him  any 
longer  continue  that  mournful  pos- 
ture ;  that  he  had  other  work  to  do 
than  to  spend  time  in  grieving  and 
afliicting  himself  in  view  of  what 
was  past ;  that  he  must  arise  and  set 
about  discovering  the  accursed  thing, 
and  casting  it  out;  in  a  word  that  he 
must  lay  aside  his  mourning  weeds, 
and  enter  upon  that  which  was  es- 
pecially and  pre-eminently  at  present 
incumbent  upon  him,  '  For  every 
thing  there  is  a  season,  and  it  behoves 
us  to  see  that  the  time  is  not  spent  in 
empty  lamentation  Mhich  God  would 
have  devoted  to  vigorous  action  in 
reforming  what  is  amiss.'     Henry. 

11.  Israel  hath  sinned.  For  a  view 
of  the  reason  why  this  is  spoken  of 
as  the  act  of  the  whole  body  of  Israel, 

see   No'.e   on   v.  1. IT  Have  also 

transgressed  my  covenant.  That  is, 
have  broken  the  conditions  of  the 
covenant  or  agreement  of  general 
obedience  into  which  they  had  before 
entered,  Ex.  19.  8 ;  24.  7 ;  or,  have 
transgressed  the  particular  precept 
relative  to  the  accursed  thing,  ch.  6. 
19.  Covenant,  in  the  Scriptures, of.en 
has  the  sense  of  command,  precept, 

ordinance. If  Have    also    stolen. 

Have  sacrilegiously  taken  and  ap- 
propriated to  their  own  use  the  por- 


so 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


they  have  put  it  even  among 
their  own  stuff'. 

12  '"Therefore  the  children  of 
Israel  could  not  stand  before 
their  enemies,  but  turned  their 
backs  before  their  enemies,  be- 
cause "they  were  accursed  : 
neither  will  I  be  with  you  any 
more,  except  ye  destroy  the 
accursed  from  among  you. 

13  Up,  "sanctify  the  people, 

m  See  Num.  14.  45.  Judg.  2.  14.  i>  Deut. 
7.  26.     ch.  6.  18.     0  Exod.  19.  10. 

tion  which  I  had  reserved  to  myself, 
and  ordered  to  be  brought  into  the 

treasur3^ U  And  dissembled  also. 

Have  covered  the  deed  with  deep 
dissimulation ;  instead  of  ingenuously 
confessing  the  sin  and  imploring 
pardon,  have  studiously  endeavored 
to  hide  it,  as  if  by  concealing  it  from 
their  brethren  they  had  concealed  it 
from  me  also.  The  crime  is  recited 
with  the  utmost  particularity,  in 
order  that  its  various  aggravations 
may  be  more  impressively  set  forth. 

1!  Have  put  it  even  among  their 

men  stuff.  Among  their  own  goods. 
12,  Because  thexj  icere  accursed.  In 
exact  accordance  wiih  the  threaten- 
ing before  denounced  against  them, 
ch.  6.  18.  Joshua  was  thus  informed 
that  this,  and  nothing  else,  was  the 
ground  of  the  controversy  w^hieh  God 
now  had  with  his  people.  They  had, 
by  their  iniquity,  put  themselves  out 
of  the  range  of  his  protection  and 
blessing,  and  unless  summary  pun- 
ishment was  executed  upon  the  of- 
fender, they  would  transfer  upon 
themselves  the  very  curse  denounced 
against  their  adversaries. IT  Ex- 
cept ye  destroy  the  acc7crsed.  The  ac- 
cursed person  with  all  that  pertains 
to  him,  v.  24. 


and  say,  p  Sanctify  yourselves 
against  to-morrow  :  for  thus 
saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel, 
There  is  an  accursed  thing  in 
the  midst  of  thee,  O  Israel :  thou 
canst  not  stand  before  thine  ene- 
mies, until  ye  take  away  the 
accursed  thing  from  among  you. 
14  In  the  morning  therefore 
ye  shall  be  brought  according 
to  your  tribes  :  and  it  shall  be, 
that  the  tribe  which  ''the  Lokd 

P  ch.3.  5.    q  Prov.  16.33. 


13,  Upf  sanctify  the  people.  That 
is,  command  and  see  that  they  sanc- 
tify themselves.  Cause  them  to 
purify  their  persons  by  legal  wash- 
ings, but  more  especially  to  put  them- 
selves into  a  suitable  frame  of  mind 
to  appear  before  God,  and  submit  to 
the  Divine  scrutiny.  Although  the 
act  of  Achan  had  been  perpetrated 
with  so  much  caution  that  it  was  un- 
perceived  by  any  human  being,  yet 
the  eye  of  God  had  been  upon  it.  and 
he  declared  to  Joshua  the  true  reason 
of  his  displeasure,  and  of  Israel's  de- 
feat. But,  though  he  revealed  the 
fact,  he  did  not  name  the  person  that 
had  committed  it,  but  left  that  to  be 
discovered  in  a  way  more  impressive 
to  the  nation,  and  more  merciful  to 
the  offender,  inasmuch  as  it  gave 
him  lime  for  repentance  and  v^olun- 

tary  acknowledgment. IF  The  re  is 

an  accursed  thing,  &c.  Th.e  crime 
of  sacrilege  has  been  committed  in 
the  midst  of  thee,  O  Israel. 

14.  Ye  shall  be  brought.  Heb. 
fitl^i'lpD  nikrabtem,  ye  shall  come  near. 
i.  c.  to  the  tabernacle,  or  to  the  ark, 
wherever  that  might  now  be  deposit- 
ed. Persons  deputed  from  each  tribe, 
to  represent  it,  shall  successively 
come  to  appear  before  me,  and  re- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VIL 


81 


taketh  shall  come  according  to 
the  families  thereof ;  and  the 
family  which  the  Lord  shall 
take  shall  come  by  households ; 
and  the  household  which  the 
Lord  shall  take  shall  come  man 
by  man 

15 
that  is  taken  with  the  accursed 
thino;  shall  be  burnt  with  fire 


And  it  shall  be,  that  he 


r  See  1  Sam.  14.  38,  39. 


ceive    my    orders. IT   The    tribe 

v:hich  the  Lord  taketh.  That  is,  the 
iribe  which  shall  be  discovered  or 
declared  guilty  by  the  lot.  The  tribe 
thus  indicated  is  said  to  be  '  taken  by 
the  Lord,'  because  the  lot  was  dis- 
posed of  by  him,  according  to  Prov. 
16.  33 ;  the  transaction  was  specially 
overruled  by  him  in  his  mysterious 
providence  for  the  detection  of  the 
guilty.  Of  the  sacred  use  of  lots, 
see  i  Sam.  10.  20,  21 ;  14-  41,  42 ; 
Acts  1.  24,  26.  The  original  for 
'take'  has  the  import  of  arresting, 
■seizing,  being  the  appropriate  term 
for  the  apprehension  of  criminals. 

15.  He  that  is  taken  with  the  ac- 
cursed thing.  Heb.  Q~inn  ba'herem, 
in  the  accursed  thing.  That  is,  he 
that  is  divinely  pointed  out  as  being 
involved  in  the  guilt  of  the  accursed 

thing. IT  Shall  be  burnt  with  fire. 

The  doom  expressly  appointed  for 
persons  or  things  accursed,  Deut.  13. 
15,  16.  In  addition  to  this,  and  pre- 
viously to  it,  the  culprit,  as  appears 
from  V.  25,  was  to  be  stoned  to  death 
at  the  hands  of  the  congregation. 
This  was  the  punishment  ordained 
for  blasphemers  and  presumptuous 
offenders,  Num.  15.  30,  35.  We  do 
read  that  Achan  verbally  blasphemed, 
but  all  high-handed,  deliberate  tran.s- 
gression  is  virtual  blasphemy,  and  is 


he  and  all  that  he  hath  :  because 
he  hath  'transgressed  the  cove- 
nant of  the  Lord,  and  because 
he  ^hath  wrought  folly  in  Is- 
rael. 

16  IT  So  Joshua  rose  up  early 
in  the  mornino;,  and  brouo;ht  Is- 
rael  by  their  tribes  ;  and  the 
tribe  of  Judah  was  taken  : 

17  And  he  brought  the  family 

s  ver.  11.     t  Gen.  34.  7,    Judg.  20.  6. 


SO  regarded  in  the  judgment  of  hea- 
ven.  TT  He  and  all  that  he  hath. 

His  sons,  daughters,  cattle  and  goods, 
&c.,  all  being  in  the  Divine  estima- 
tion, in  consequence  of  their  connex- 
ion with  him,  considered  as  infected 
with  the  taint  of  his  guilt,  and  there- 
fore exposed  to  share  with  him  in 
his  condemnation.  This  may  appear 
to  human  view  a  severe,  if  not  an  un- 
just sentence,  but  we  can  only  say  it 
is  in  strict  accordance  with  the  gen- 
eral analogy  of  God's  providence  in 
this  world,  and  as  such  is  to  be  un- 
hesitatingly acknowledged  as  bear- 
ing the  impress  of  perfect  equity  and 

justice. IT  Hath  loroxight  folly  in 

Israel.  That  is,  a  base,  foolish  and 
sinful  deed,  such  as  every  wise  and 
well  principled  man  w^ould  utterly 
condemn.  In  this  sense  the  term 
'  folly '  frequently  occurs.  See  Gen. 
34.  7 ;  Deut.  32.  21 ;  2  Sam.  13.  12. 
It  v^'as  a  conduct  that  brought  shame 
and  disgrace  upon  a  nation,  sustain- 
ing the  reputation  of  a  wise  and  un- 
derstanding people. 

17.  And  he  brought  the  family  of 
Judah.  That  is,  the  several  families, 
the   collection   of    families,   collect. 

sing,  for  plur. ^  He  brought  the 

family  of  the  Zarhites,  man  by  man. 
It  was  ordered,  v.  14,  that  all  Israel 
should  come  near  by  tribes,  and  one 


82 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


of  Judah  ;  and  he  took  the  fam- 
ily of  the  Zarhites  ;  and  he 
hrought  the  family  of  the  Zar- 
hites  man  by  man  ;  and  Zabdi 
was  taken  : 

18  And  he  brought  his  house- 
Jiold  man  by  man  ;  and  Achan 


trib3  was  to  be  fixed  on ;  then  that 
tribe  came  by  its  families,  and  one 
family  was  fixed  onj  then  came  that 
family  by  its  households,  and  one 
hoa.>ehold  was  fixed  on  ;  and  finally 
that  household  coming  man  by  man, 
on2  man  was  fixed  on.  In  the  pre- 
Sf  ni  passage  there  appears  to  be  some 
confusion  in  this  prescribed  order  of 
selection.  In  speaking  of  Zarhi  the 
phrase  'by  households'  is  left  out, 
and  '  man  by  man '  expressed  twice. 
The  probability  is  that  a  slight  error 
lias  crept  inio  the  original  text;  in- 
stead ofD'^^j^^  laggebarim,  man  by 
man,  r.  17,  the  true  word  is  undoubt- 
eJly  Cn^i)  lebottim,  by  households, 
and  this  reading,  according  to  Ken- 
nicolt,  is  preserved  in  six  Hebrew 
copies,  and  in  the  Syriac  version. — 
The  Israelites  are  summoned  before 
the  Lord,  and  the  hour  of  recompense 
is  at  hand.  The  lots  are  gone  forth. 
At  first  Achan  might  stand  enwrap- 
ped in  security,  and  little  fearful  that 
among  the  mighty  multitude  assem- 
bled around  him,  he  alone  should  be 
detected  ;  but  this  groundless  confi- 
dence could  not  long  abide.  The 
tribe  of  Judah,  to  which  he  belonged, 
is  taken  ;  and  the  probabilities  of  dis- 
covery are  vastly  increased.  Some 
rising  fear  begins  to  struggle  with 
his  self-possession,  and  now  his  heart 
throbs  with  a  quicker  and  louder 
alarm;  for  the  family  of  the  Zarhites, 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  is  select- 
ed,  as   containing  the   guilty  man. 


the  son  of  Carmi,  the  son  of 
Zabdi  J  the  son  of  Zerah,  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  "was  taken. 

19    And     Joshua     said    unto 
Achan,   My  son,  ""give,  I  pray 

u  1  Sam.  14.  42.    x  See  1  Sam.  6.  5.    Jer. 
13.  16.    John  9.  24. 


That  family  comes  now  by  its  house- 
holds, and  lo,  the  household  of  Zabdi 
is  taken.  Whither  now  shall  Achan 
flee,  and  where  is  the  hope  of  con- 
cealment with  which  he  lulled  his 
soul  to  sleep  in  its  guilt  and  crime  1 
The  family  of  Zabdi  advances,  and 
the  last  lots  are  given  forth  ;  and  be- 
hold, Achan,  the  son  of  Carmi,  is 
found  and  stands  among  the  riiany 
thousands  of  Israel,  pointed  out  by 
the  unerring  finger  of  God,  as  the 
man  who  had  taken  the  accursed 
thing,  and  rtiade  himself  a  curse  by 
this  presumptuous  act  of  sacrilege. — 
'  We  may  well  imagine  how  Achan's 
countenance  changed,  and  what  hor- 
ror and  confusion  seized  him,  when 
he  was  singled  out  as  the  delinquent, 
when  the  eyes  of  all  Israel  were 
fastened  upon  him,  and  every  one 
was  ready  to  say,  Have  we  foimd 
thee,  O  our  enemy  !'  Henry. 

19.  And  Joshua  said  unto  Achan,  My 

son.    Adopting  this  affectionate  style 

of  address  to  show  that  the  present 

severe  proceedings  against  him  were 

not  prompted  by  any  personal  ill  will, 

or  an  angry  spirit  of  revenge.  Though 

he  was  obliged  to  act  as  a  magistrate, 

)'-et   he  was  willing  Achan   should 

know  that  he  felt  as  a  father,  and  in 

so  doing  proposed  a  noble  example 

to  all  who  have  the  administration 

of  justice,  'not  to  insult  over  those 

'  who  are  in  misery,  though  they  may 

I  have  brought  themselves  into  it  by 

I  their  own  wickedness,  but  to  treat 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


thee,  glory  to  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  ^  and  make  confession  un- 
to hun  ;  and  ^teli  me  now  what 
thou  hast  done,  hide  it  not  from 
me. 

y  Numb.  5.  6,  7.    2  Chroii.  30.  22.    Ps.  51. 
3.     Daii.  y.  4.     -^  I  Sam.  14  43 


even  offenders  v/iih  the  spirit  of  meek- 
ness, n^t  knowing  what  we  ourselves 
should  have  done,  if  God  had  put  us 
into  the  hand  of  our  own  counsels. 

Hennj. IT  Give  glorij  to  the  Lord 

God  of  Israel.  Heb.  "123  D">1D  sim 
kabnd,  put,  appoint,  ordain,  glory  to 
the  Lord  God.  That  is,  by  conless- 
ing  the  truth,  by  honestly  pleading 
guilty  to  the  charge,  by  ingenuously 
acknowledging  the  sin  and  the  jus- 
tice of  the  punishment  which  it  in- 
curred. By  so  doing  he  would  not 
only  ascribe  to  God  the  glory  of  his 
omniscience,  from  which  no  secrets 
are  hid,  in  detecting  and  exposing 
the  crime,  but  also  of  his  justice  in 
punishing  it.  He  would  in  fact 
thereby  most  efiectually  give  him 
the  praise  of  all  his  perfections,  and 
con.sult  the  best  interests  of  his  soul 
in  the  world  to  come.  It  appears 
ft-ora  a  similar  usage  in  several  other 
instances,  that  God  regards  the  con- 
fession of  the  truth  as  very  intimately 
connected  with  giving  him  glory.  2 
Chron.  30.  8  Thus,  Luke  23.  47, 
*  Now  when  the  centurion  saw  what 
was  done,  he  glorified  God  (i.  e.  gave 
him  glory),  saying,  certainly  this  was 
a  righteous  man.'  John  9.  24,  '  Then 
again  called  they  the  man  that  was 
blind,  and  said  unto  him,  Give  God 
the  praise  ;  we  know  that  this  man  is 
a  sinner;'  on  which  passage  Mr. 
Barnes  remarks,  '  The  meaning  here 
is  not,  "  give  God  the  praise  for  heal- 
ing you,"  but  confess  that  you  have 
declared  to  us  a  falsehood  ;  and  that 


20  And  Achan  answered  Josh- 
ua, and  said.  Indeed  I  have  sin- 
ned against  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  and  thus  and  thus  have 
I  done. 

21  When    I   saw    among  the 

you  have  endeavored  to  impose  on. 
us ;  and  by  thus  confessing  your  sin 
give  praise  -and  honor  to  God,  who 
condemns  all  imposture  and  false- 
hood; and  whom  you  will  thus  ac- 
knowledge to  be  right  in  your  con- 
demnation.' Nothing  should  be  more 
deeply  impressed  upon  the  mind  of 
the  sinner,  than  that  the  humble  and 
penitent  confession  of  guilt  tends  di- 
rectly to  the  glory  of  God,  and  that 
withholding  confession  is  robbing 
him  of  his  right,  as  well  as  incurring 

his   displeasure. IF  Tell  me  now 

what  thou  hast  done.  The  testimony 
of  God  would  have  been  sufficient, 
who  could  neither  deceive  nor  be  de- 
ceived. Joshua  also,  who  was  now 
knowing  to  his  crime,  might  have 
declared  it.  but  he  could  not  prove  it ; 
and  as  it  was  intended  that  the  offen- 
der should  be  made  a  public  monu- 
ment of  justice,  and  be  held  up  as  a 
warning  to  the  whole  nation,  it  was 
desirable  that  the  most  indisputable 
evidence  of  his  guilt  should  be  ad- 
duced. He  is  made  therefore  himself 
to  supply  a  testimony  which  none 
could  controvert  or  doubt ;  even  to 
bear  witness  against  himself  Joshua 
requires  this  confession  to  be  made  to 
him,  because  he  stood,  both  to  Achan 
and  to  the  people,  in  God's  stead.  It 
was  in  effect  the  same,  therefore,  a.s 
making  it  to  God  himself. 

20.  Indeed  I  have  sinned,  &c.  The 
confession,  though  not  made  till  it 
w,as  extorted,  was  finally  made  with 
great  frankness  and  ingenuousness. 


«84 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1452. 


spoils  a  goodly  Babylonish  gar- 
ment, and  two  hundred  shekels 
of  silver,  and  a  wedge  of  gold 
of  fifty  shekels  weight,  then  1 

He  recites  the  circumstances  of  the 
act  in  all  their  particulars,  and  with 
all  their  aggravations ;  attempts  no 
excuse  or  extenuation ;  complains  not 
of  the  severity  of  the  sentence,  nor 
seeks  to  prevent  or  delay  its  execu- 
tion ;  from  which  we  may  indulge 
the  hope,  however  feeble,  that  the  poor 
culprit  found  mercy  for  his  soul. 

21.  A  goodUj  Babylonish  garment. 
Heb.  '^yrj  rn~ii  addcrelh  Shinar,  a 
splendid  or  cosLlij  robe  of  Shinar,  ren- 
dered '  Babylonish  garment,'  because 
Babylon  or  Babel  was  situated  in  the 
plain  of  Shinar.  Bochart  and  Cal- 
rnet  have  shown  at  large  that  Baby- 
lonish robes  were  very  splendid  and 
in  high  repute.  Ezek.  23.  15.  Jose- 
phus  calls  it  'a royal  garment wov^en 
en  irely  of  gold.'  The  word  signifies 
Kiich  a  robe  or  mantle  as  princes  wore 
wlien  they  appeared  in  state,  Jon.  3. 6, 
and   this  probably  belonged  to  the 

king  of  Jericho. IT  Tico  hundred 

shekels  of  silver.  In  weight,  not  in 
coin.  Its  value  in  our  currency  was 
a  little  upwards  of  one  hundred  dol- 
lar?.  IT  A  vxdge  of  gold.     Heb, 

Sfif  *]13i  leshon  zahab,  a  tongue  of 
gold,  i.  e.  what  we  understand  by  an 
ingot  of  gold,  a  corruption,  according 
to  A.  Clarke,  of  the  word  lingot,  from 
the    Lat.  Ungula,  signifying  a  little 

tongue. IT  /  coveted  them  and  took 

them.  The  three  words  occurring  in 
this  narrative,  '  I  saw — I  coveted — I 
took,'  strikingly  express  the  rise,  pro- 
gress, and  consummation  of  crime. 
The  whole  process  is  here  laid  open. 
The  inward  corruption  of  the  heart 
is  first  drawn  forth  by  .some  enticing 


coveted  them,  and  took  them, 
and  behold,  they  are  hid  in  the 
earth  in  the  midst  of  my  tent, 
and  the  silver  mider  it. 


object.  The  desire  of  gratification 
is  then  formed,  and  the  determina- 
tion to  attain  it  fixed.  Then  comes 
the  act  itself,  followed  by  its  bitter 
and  fearful  consequences.  In  this 
instance  the  temptation  entered  by 
the  eye ;  he  savj  those  fine  things  as 
Eve  saw  the  forbidden  fruit  j  and  h«j 
allowed  his  eyes  to  gaze  and  feast 
upon  the  interdicted  objects.  The 
sight  inflamed  his  desire  ;  and  he 
coveted  them.  The  next  step  was  to 
carry  out  the  feeling  into  act ;  the 
desire  prompted  him  to  take  them,  as 
he  actually  did,  and  thus  accom- 
plished the  fearful  deed.  So  natu- 
rally does  lust,  when  it  hath  con- 
ceived, bring  forth  sin,  and  sin  when 
finished  bringeth  forth  death.  The 
only  way  to  avoid  sin  in  action  is  to 
quench  its  incipient  workings  in  the. 
heart,  to  mortify  sinful  desires,  espe- 
cially ti^e  desire  of  worldly  weaUli, 
the  source  of  such  untold  evils  in  the 
world.  We  are  ever  in  this  world 
surrounded  by  incitements  to  sin,  hot 
we  are  to  pass  in  the  midst  of  them, 
like  the  Israelites  among  the  spoils 
of  Jericho,  under  the  abiding  im- 
pression that  the  interdict  of  Heaven 
is  upon  the  least  forbidden  indul- 
gence. And  as  the  eye  is  the  great 
inlet  to  that  mischief  which  works 
upon  the  heart,  our  only  safety  is  in 
making,  with  Job,  a  covenant  wit'i 
our  eyes,  and  continually  uttering 
the  prayer  of  David,  'Turn  away 
mine  eyes   from  beholding  vanity, 

and  quicken  me  in  thy  way.' 

IT  And  the  silver  under  it.  That  is, 
under  the  Babylonish  garment ;  cov- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


85 


22  Tl"  So  Joshua  sent  messen- 
gers, and  they  ran  unto  the  tent, 
and  behold,  it  was  hid  in  his 
tent,  and  the  silver  under  it. 


the  children  of  Israel,  and  laid 
'  them  out  before  the  Lord. 
:    24  And  Joshua,  and  all  Israel 
j  with  him,  took  Achan  the  son 
23  And  they  took  them  out  of  |  of  Zerah,  and  the  silver,  and  the 
the  midst  of  the  tent,  and  brought !  garment,  and  the  wedge  of  gold, 
nem  unto  Joshua,  and  unto  all ;  and  his  sons,  and  his  daughters, 


ered  with  it,  concealed  by  it,  or  wrap- 
ped up  in  it. 

22.  So  Joshua  sent  messengers.  To 
put  to  the  test  the  truth  of  his  confes- 
sion.  IT  And  they  ran  unto  the  tent. 

Ran,  not  only  to  show  their  alacrity 
in  obeying  Joshua's  orders,  but  to 
show  also  how  uneasy  they  were  till 
the  camp  was  cleared  of  the  accursed 
thing,  and  the  Divine  favor  regained. 

IF  It  v:as  hid.   That  is,  the  parcel 

of  things  mentioned  v.  21,  21. 

23.  Laid  them  out  before  the  Lord. 
Heb.  nin^  *^:i:b  l-lp^*^  yatzikum 
liphne  Yehovah,  poured  them  out  be- 
fore the  Lord.  That  is,  before  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  the  hallowed 
sign  of  the  Lord's  presence,  where 
Joshua  and  the  elders  were  awaiting 
the  issue  of  the  transaction. 

24.  And  his  sons  and  his  daughters. 
As  no  iniiiiialion  is  given  that 
Achan's  sons  or  any  of  Jiis  family 
were  accessary  to  his  crime,  we  are 
not  warranted,  perhaps,  in  supposing 
that  they  were  now  condemned  to 
suffer  on  that  account ;  although  it 
may  be  admitted  that  he  could  not 
very  easily  have  concealed  the  arti- 
cles in  the  midst  of  the  tent  without 
some  of  its  inmates  being  privy  to  it. 
But  the  supposition  of  iheir  guilt  we 
do  not  deem  necessary  to  vindicate 
the  equity  and  justice  of  the  sentence. 
As  all  lives  are  really  forfeited  by 
sin ;  as  the  ungodly  deserve  w-orse 
punishment  than  temporal  death, 
and  as  God,  the  supreme  arbiter  of 

8 


:  life  and  death,  may  exact  the  debt 
I  which  all  owe  in  any  way  or  time 
I  that  seemeth  to  him  good,  we  know 
j  not  vvho  can  question  the  righteous- 
,  ness  of  his  judgment  on  this  occasion. 
j  If  evil,  no  injustice  would  be  done 
them,  and  if  good,  they  would  the 
j  sooner  be   taken  to   their   reward ; 
and  we  can  easily  conceive  that  the 
death  of  a  few  persons  at  this  par- 
ticular juncture,  and  under  the  sol- 
emn circumstances   in  which  they 
now  stood,  might  be  attended  with  the 
happiest  results.     They  were  now 
in  the   commencement  of  their  na- 
tional existence  in  Canaan.     It  was 
necessary   that    the    people    should 
know,    by    a    fresh    demonstration, 
what  a  God   they  had  to  do  with. 
Whilst  they  learned  from  his  mer- 
cies how  greatly  he  was  to  be  loved, 
they  needed  also  to  learn  from  his 
judgments  how  greatly  he  was  to  be 
feared.     This  lesson  would  be  eftect- 
ually  taught  them  by  the  present  act 
of  severity,  and  the  death  of  a  sin- 
gle individual  might,  by  its  admoni- 
tory influence,  be  the  means  of  after- 
wards preventing:  the  death  of  many 

thousands. IT  His   oxen,    and  his 

asses,  and  his  sheep.  Brute  beasts  are 
of  course  incapable  of  sin  and  so  of 
punishment,  properly  so  called,  but 
as  they  are  made  for  man's  use,  and 
are  daily  killed  for  food,  there  seems 
no  impropriety  in  taking  away  their 
lives  for  moral  purposes,  to  show  us 
more    impressively  the    destruetive 


86 


JOSHUA. 


fB.  C.  1451. 


and  his  oxen,  and  his  asses,  and 
his  sheep,  and  his  tent,  and  all 
that  he  had  :  and  they  brought 
them  unto  ^  the  valley  of  Achor. 
25  And    Joshua    said    ''Why 


a  ver.  26.    ch.  15.  7. 
2.  7.    Gal.  5.  12. 


b  ch.  6. 18.    1  Chron. 


and  detestable  nature  of  sin.  The 
truth  is,  the  animal  world  being 
originally  formed  for  the  service 
of  man,  is  to  be  considered  as 
a  kind  of  appendage  to  him  and 
so  is  made  to  share  in  his  lot, 
whether  of  weal  or  wo.  On  this 
principle  the  earth  with  its  various 
tribes  felt  the  effects  of  the  curse 
when  Adam  sinned,  and  the  whole 
creation  has  groaned  in  bondage  ever 
since.  Occurrences  like  that  men- 
tioned in  the  text  are  merely  illus- 
trations of    this    general    law. 

^And  they  brought  them  unto  the  val- 
le7j  of  Achor.  Heb.  1^y">l  vayaalii, 
bi  ought  them  up,  made  them  go  up  or 
ascend.  Persons  are  generally  said 
to  descend  to  a  valley,  but  the  phra- 
seology here  is  probably  founded  on 
the  relative  situation  of  the  valley 
and  the  camp.  In  going  to  it  they 
may  have  been  obliged  to  travel 
some  distance  over  the  hilly  country, 
towards  the  interior.  This  w^ould  be 
ascending  from  the  Jordan,  and  that 
such  was  the  fact  is  to  be  inferred 
from  ch.  15.  7.  The  valley  is  called 
Achor  by  anticipation.  It  %vas  so 
named  from  the  event. 

25.  Why  hast  thou  troubled  us  ? 
the  Lord  shall  trouble  thee  this  day. 
This  is  said  in  allusion  to  the  words 
of  the  warning,  ch.  4.  18,  'Lest  ye 
make  the  camp  of  Israel  a  curse  and 
trouble  it.'  From  this  circumstance 
his  name  Achan  seems  to  have  been 
changed  ioAchar,  trouble,  i.  e.  troubler. 


hast  thou  troubled  us  ?  the  Lord 
shall  trouble  thee  this  day. 
'And  all  Israel  stoned  him  with 
stones,  and  burned  them  witn 
fire,  after  they  had  stoned  them 
with  stones. 

c  Deut.  17.  5. 


1  Chron.  2.  7.  See  on  ch.  6.  18. 
How  strikingly  did  Achan's  conduct 
verify  the  saying  of  Solomon,  Prov. 
15.  27,  '  He  that  is  greedy  of  gain 
trouhleth  his  own  house  ;'  and  how 
clear  from  this  instance,  is  it  that  sin 
is  a  very  troublesome,  as  well  as  a 
very  wicked  thing,  and  that  not  only 
to  the  sinner  himself,  but  to  all  around 
him.  When  Ahab  met  Elijah,  he 
cried,  in  the  consciousness  of  his 
own  offences,  'Art  thou  he  that 
troublcth  Israel  V  '  I  have  not 
troiibled  Israel,'  answered  the  indig- 
nant prophet,  '  but  thou  and  thy 
father's  house,  in  that  ye  have  for- 
saken the  commandments  of  the 
Lord.'  Such  was  virtually  the  lan- 
guage of  Joshua  to  Achan  on  this 

occasion. H  And  all  Israel  stoned 

hirnvAlh  stones.  The  burning  there- 
fore commanded,  v.  15.  must  have 
reference  to  the  dead  body.  He  was 
first  stoned,  and  his  carcase  then  con- 
signed to  the  flames,  himself  and  all 
his  sharing  the  same  fate.  '  He  per- 
ished not  alone  in  his  iniquity.'  The 
punishment  is  said  to  have  been  exe- 
cuted by  '  all  Israel,'  not  because 
every  individual  without  exception 
had  a  hand  in  it,  but  because  all  were 
present  as  spectators,  all  were  con- 
senting to  the  act,  and  as  many  as 
could  be  were  active  agents  in  it  in 
the  name  of  the  rest.  This  showed 
the  universal  detestation  of  the  deed, 
and  their  anxiety  to  avert  from  them 
the  Divine  displeasure. 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


87 


26  And  they  "^  raised  over  him 
a  great  heap  of  stones  unto  this 
day.       So    "the    Lord    turned 


d  ch.  8.  29. 
e  Deut.  13.  17. 


2  Sam.  18.  17. 
2  Sam.  21.  14. 


Lam.  3.  53. 


26.  Raised  over  him  a  great  heap 
of  stones.  As  a  monument  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  this  transac- 
tion, and  to  serve  as  a  warning  to  all 
future  generations  to  beware  of  pre- 
sumptuous sin.  The  burying  place 
of  Absalom  was  distinguished  by  a 
similar  erection,  as  a  monument  of 
his  disgrace  to  future  ages.     2  Sam. 

18.  17. IF  Unto  this  day.     That  is, 

that  remaineth  unto  this  day.  In  a 
parallel  passage,  ch.  8.  29,  the  sup- 
plementary words  '  that  remaineth  ' 

are  inserted   in   the  text. IT  Was 

called  the  'valley  of  Achor.  Or,  Heb. 
11^5  p)32>  emak  akor,  the  valley  of 
troicble,  from  the  event.  In  Hos. 
2.  15,  the  valley  of  Achor  is  said  to 
be  given  to  Israel  as  a  '  door  of  hope,' 
in  allusion  to  the  transaction  that 
now  occurred  here,  and  implying, 
perhaps,  that  when  they  had  repented 
and  put  away  the  accursed  thing, 
then  there  would  begin  to  be  a  door 
of  hope  concerning  them,  and  that 
the  very  places,  which  had  before 
been  the  scenes  of  troublesome  judg- 
ments and  the  memorials  of  wrath, 
should  henceforth  become  only  the 
mementos  of  the  most  signal  mercies. 
Compare  Ezra  10.  2.  "Where  sin  is 
seen  and  lamented  and  decisive  steps 
taken  towards  reformation,- there  are 
tokens  for  good,  and  even  gross 
offenders  may  receive  encourage- 
ment. God  is  always  pleased  to 
have  the  monuments  of  his  displea- 
sure converted,  by  the  conver.'^ion  of 
sinners,  into  the  remembrancers  of 
kindness.— From  the  foregoing  nar- 


from  the  fierceness  of  his  anger : 
wherefore  the  name  of  that 
place  was  called,  'The  valley 
of  Achor,  unto  this  day. 

f  ver.  24.    Isai.  65.  10.    Hos.  2.  15. 


rative  we  may  deduce  the  following 
reflections. 

(l)Thedeceitfulnessofsin.  Achan, 
at  first,  had  in  mind  only  the  satis- 
faction he  should  feel  in  possessing 
the  Babylonish  garment  and  the 
wedge  and  shekels  of  gold  and  silver. 
The  ideas  of  shame  and  remorse  and 
misery  were  hid  from  him.  But  ah ! 
with  what  different  thoughts  did  he 
contemplate  his  gains,  when  inqtiisi- 
tion  was  made  to  discover  the  offend- 
er !  How  would  he  begin  to  tremble 
when  he  saw  that  his  own  tribe  was 
selected  as  containing  the  guilty  per- 
.~^on  1  How  would  his  terror  be  in- 
creased when  he  saw  his  own  family 
pointed  out !  and  wiiat  dread  would 
seize  upon  him  when  the  lot  fell  upon 
his  household !  What  a  paleness 
would  spread  over  his  cheeks,  and 
what  a  trembling  would  take  hold 
of  his  limbs  !  What  now  becomes 
of  all  his  expected  enjoyments  1 
What  beauty  does  he  now  see  in  the 
splendid  garment,  or  what  value  in 
the  shining  metals  1  Ah  !  could  he 
but  recall  the  act,  which  has  thus 
brought  him  to  shame  and  ruin !  But 
it  is  too  late  !  The  deed  is  done,  and 
the  sense  of  guilt,  as  with  the  fangs 
of  a  serpent,  has  fastened  itself  upon 
his  inmost  spirit !  Thus  too  with  the 
transgressor  of  every  name.  The 
thief,  the  adulterer,  the  seducer,  in 
the  commission  of  crime,  thinks  only 
of  the  pleasure  the  gratification  of 
his  lusts  will  afford.  Eut  he  has  no 
sooner  attained  his  object  than  his 
before  blinded  eyes  are  opened,  and 


88 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


CHAPTER  Vni. 

AND   the    Lord   said    unto 
Joshua,  ""  Fear  not,  neither 

a  Deut.  1.  21,  and  7.  18,  and  31.  S.  ch.  1.  9. 

the  enormity  of  his  sin  stares  him 
full  in  the  face.  Then  he  finds  that 
it  stings  like  a  serpent  and  bites  like 
an  adder. 

(•2)  The  certainty  of  its  exposure. 
Achan  took  great  precautions  to  con- 
ceal his  iniquit}',  but  it  was  unavail- 
ing. Men  may  hide  their  wickedness 
from  their  fellow  men,  but  not  from 
God.  His  providence  will  sooner  or 
later  bring  the  hidden  iniquity  to  the 
light,  and  for  the  most  part  in  this 
world.  But  certainly  in  the  great 
day  of  the  revelation  of  all  things. 
To  every  sinner  therefore  may  the 
solemn  Avarning  be  addressed,  '  Be 
sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out.' 

(3)  The  awfulness  of  its  reward. 
Who  does  not  shudder  at  the  thought 
of  that  vengeance  which  was  exe- 
cuted on  Achan  and  his  family  1 
"Who  does  not  see  how  fierce  the  in- 
dignation of  God  against  sin  was, 
when  the  sin  of  one  single  person  pre- 
vailed more  to  provoke  him  against 
the  whole  nation,  than  the  innocence 
of  the  whole  did  to  pacify  his  wrath 
against  the  individual  ;  when  in 
fact  nothing  but  the  most  signal  pun- 
ishment of  the  individual  could  re- 
concile him  to  the  nation  to  which 
he  belonged  1  Yet  was  all  this  but 
a  faint  shadow  of  the  indignation 
which  he  will  manifest  in  a  future 
world.  We  should  profit  from  such 
a  history  as  this.  We  should  learn 
to  dread  the  displeasure  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  to  glorify  him  now  by 
an  ingenuous  confession,  that  he  may 
not  be  glorified  hereafter  in  our  eter- 
nal condemnation. 


be  thou  dismayed  :  take  all  the 
people  of  war  with  thee,  and 
arise,  go  up  to  Ai :  see,  ''1  have 

b  ch.  6.  2. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

1.  Fear  not,  neither  be  thou  dis- 
mayed. The  sin  of  Achan  and  its 
consequences  had  probably  weighed 
deeply  on  the  spirits  of  Joshua  griev- 
ing and  discouraging  him,  so  as  to 
render  this  renewed  exhortation  pe- 
culiarly sea.sonable  at  this  lime. 
When  we  have  faithfully  put  away 
the  sin  that  separated  between  God 
and  us,  we  may  confidently  expect 
the  light  of  his  countenance  to  be  re- 
stored to  us,  and  that  he  will  animate 
us  with  such  encouragements  as  shall 
banish  the  fear  of  our  most  formida- 
ble enemies. ^  Take  all  the  people 

of  war  tcilh  thee.  This  can  hardly 
be  understood  of  the  whole  number 
of  men  of  war  in  the  congregation, 
which  amounted  to  upwards  of  six 
hundred  thousand.  It  is  more  prob- 
able that  by  'all  the  people  of  war' 
is  to  be  understood  the  thirty  thou- 
sand men  mentioned  v  3,  the  choi- 
cest part,  the  flower  of  the  host,  those 
who  were  most  experienced  in  war- 
like aflfairs.  The  main  body  of  the 
soldiery  remained   in  the   camp  at 

Gilgai. IF  /  have  given.     I  have 

purposed  to  give.  The  event  is  cer- 
tain, that  they  shall  be  delivered  into 

your  power. ^And  his  land.  That 

is,  the  territory  immediately  adjoin- 
ing the  city,  and  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  king. 

2.  Thou  shall  do  to  Ai  and  her  king 
as  thou  didst  unto  Jericho  and  her 
king.  That  is,  in  general,  in  the 
main,  not  in  every  particular.  Ai 
was  to  be  overcome  and  destroyed, 
and  in  thi.s  respect  its  fate  was  to  re- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


8^ 


given  into  thy  hand  the  king  of 
Ai,  and  his  people,  and  his  city, 
and  his  land. 

2  And  thou  shalt  do  to  Ai  and 
her  king,  as  thou  didst  unto 
"Jericho  and  her  king ;  only 
'^  the  spoil  thereof,  and  the  cattle 
thereof,  shall  ye  take  for  a  prey 

c  ch.  6.  21.    d  Deut.  20.  14. 


semble  that  of  Jericho,  But  the  pre- 
cise manner  of  its  destruction  was 
not  the  same ;  the  king  of  Ai  was  not 
to  be  put  to  death  by  the  sword,  as 
the  king  of  Jericho  had  been,  nor 
was  a  curse  denounced  against  him 
that  should  rebuild  Ai,  as  was  the 

case  in  regard  to  Jericho. IT  Only 

the  spoil  thereof — shall  ye  take  to  your- 
selves. This  was  the  grand  point  of 
differencp.  in  the  prescribed  manner 
of  treating  the  two  cities.  In  the  one 
case,  the  spoil  was  granted  to  the 
people;  in  the  other  not.  Therewas, 
therefore,  no  danger  of  their  commit- 
ting the  same  trespass  here  that  they 
had  there.  '  Observe  how  Achan, 
who  catched  at  forbidden  spoil,  lost 
that,  and  life,  and  all ;  but  the  rest  of 
the  people,  who  had  conscientiously 
refrained  from  the  accursed  thing, 
were  quickly  recompensed  for  their 
obedience  with  the  spoil  of  Ai.  The 
way  to  have  the  comfort  of  what  God 
allows,  is,  to  forbear  what  he  forbids 
us.  No  man  shall  lose  by  his  self- 
denial.'  Henry. ^Lay  thee  an  am- 

hush  for  the  city  behind  it.  That  is, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  as  the 
Israelites,  at  the  time  of  receiving 
this  command,  were  on  the  east  side 
of  it,  and  the  orientals,  in  designating 
the  relative  position  of  places,  were 
always  supposed  to  face  the  east. 
This  stratagem  is  to  be  justified  on 
the  ground  that  God  commanded  it, 


unto   yourselves :    lay  thee  an 
ambush  for  the  city  behind  it. 

3  IT  So  Joshua  arose,  and  all 
the  people  of  war,  to  go  up 
against  Ai :  and  Joshua  chose 
out  thirty  thousand  mighty  men 
of  valor,  and  sent  them  away 
by  night. 


and  it  is  obvious  that  if  it  was  right 
for  them  to  overpower  their  enemies, 
it  was  equally  right  to  out-wit  them, 
if  they  could  do  it.  '  No  treaties 
were  violated,  no  oaths  broken,  no 
falsehoods  uttered ;  and  it  cannot  be 
requisite  to  inform  our  enemies  of 
our  intentions  and  purposes,  however 
they  may  be  deceived  by  appear- 
ances. But  perjuries,  lies,  and  infrac- 
tions of  treaties  cannot,  in  any  war 
or  in  any  case,  be  allowable  or  ex- 
cusable.' Scott. 

3.  So  Joshua  arose  to  go  iip  against 
Ai.  That  is,  set  about  the  business 
of  going  up,  took  measures  prepara- 
tory to  it,  consulted  and  laid  the  plan 
of  operations.  It  does  not  express 
the  fact  of  their  actually  marching 
towards  Ai,  for  this  is  inconsistent 
with  what  follows,  but  according  to 
a  familiar  idiom  of  the  Hebrew,  on 
which  we  have  remarked  before,  ch. 
6.  25,  merely  implies  their  entering 
upon  the  preliminary  measures.  '  To 
arise,'  in  innumerable  instances  in 
the  scriptures,  means  nothing  more 
than  to  address  one's  self  to  a  particu- 
lar business^  to  set  about  it,  to  engage 

in  it. ^  Chose  out  thirty  thousand 

mighty  men.  The  whole  number  of 
men  to  be  employed  on  this  occasion. 

IT  And  sent  them  away  by  night. 

That  is,  as  -we  suppose,  not  the  whole 
of  the  thirty  thousand,  but  the  party 
of  five  thousand  expressly  mentioned 


90 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


4  And  he  commanded  them, 
saying,  Behold  ^ye  shall  lie  in 
wait  against  the  city,  even  be- 
hind the  city  :  go  not  very  far 
from  the  city,  but  be  ye  all  ready : 

5  And  I,  and  all  the  people 
that  are  with  me,  will  approach 
unto  the  city  :  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass  when  they  come  out 
against  us,  as  at  the  first,  that 
■we  will  flee  before  them, 

6  (For  they  will  come  out 
after  us)  till  we  have  draAvn 
them  from  the  city  ;  for  they 
will  say,  They  flee  before  us,  as 

e  Judg.  20.  29.     f  Judg.  20.  32. 

V.  12.  The  next  verse,  as  well  as  v. 
9,  seems  to  limit  it  to  those  who  were 
'  to  lie  in  wait,'  and  these  were  un- 
questionably the  five  thousand,  and 
not  the  whole  detachment  specified 
above,  who  could  not  well  have  exe- 
cuted such  a  design  without  being 
discovered.  It  is  true  that,  according 
to  this  interpretation ,  we  must  suppose 
the  pronoun  '  ihem  '  to  be  put  before 
its  antecedent,  which  is  left  to  be  in- 
ferred from  the  tenor  of  the  ensuing 
narrative,  but  this  is  no  unusual 
thing  with  the  sacred  writers.  See 
Ex.  14.  19  ;  Ps.  87  1 ;  105.  19 ;  Prov. 
7.  8.  On  any  other  mode  of  con- 
struction it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
make  out  a  consistent  narration  of 
the  facts,  unless  it  be  supposed  that 
tlie  verbs  here  should  be  rendered 
'  had  chosen,'  and  '  had  sent,'  and  the 
entire  portion,  from  this  place  to  the 
end  of  V.  9,  be  taken  as  a  parenthesis, 
which  is  not  improbable.  The  rea- 
sons for  sending  an  ambuscade  bij 
night  are  too  obvious  to  require  re- 
mark. 
4.  And  he  commanded  them.     That 


at  the  first :  therefore   we  will 
flee  before  I  hem. 

7  Then  ye  shall  rise  up  from 
the  ambush,  and  seize  upon  the 
city  :  for  the  Lord  your  God 
will  deliver  it  into  your  hand. 

8  And  it  shall  be  when  ye  have 
taken  the  city,  that  ye  shall  set 
the  city  on  fire :  according  to 
the  commandment  of  the  Lord 
shall  ye  do.  °See,  I  have  com- 
manded you. 

9  "TT  Joshua  therefore  sent  them 
forth  ;  and  they  went  to  lie  in 
ambush,    and    abode    between 

K  2  Snm.  1-3  28. 


is,  the  party  of  5,000  just  spoken  of 
as  sent  away  by  night. 

5.  All  the  people  that  are  with  me. 
That  is,  the  25,000  remaining  after 
the  5,000  were  sent  away,  and  whom 
he  kept  for  a  lure  to  draw  out  the 

inhabitants  of  Ai  from  the  city 

IT  As  at  the  first.  As  on  the  former 
expedition,  when  Israel  was  so  sadly 
worsted. 

6.  Till  ive  have  draivn  ihem.  Heb. 
I'p'^rn  hattikenu,  till  we  have  pulled, 
or  plucked  them. 

7.  Then  s?iall  ye  rise  up  from  the 
ambush.  Upon  the  signal  given,  v.  18. 

8.  Ye  shall  set  the  city  on  fire.  Pro- 
bably this  means  no  more  than  that 
they  should  kindle  a  fire  in  the  city, 
the  smoke  of  which  should  be  an  in- 
dication that  they  had  taken  it.  Had 
they  set  fire  to  the  whole  city,  the 
spoils  which  v.'ere  to  be  divided 
among  the  people,  would  have  been 
all  consumed.  It  appears,  moreover, 
from  V.  28,  that  the  city  was  not  burnt 
till  afterwards. 

9.  Joshua  therefore  sent  them  forth 
That  is,  the  detachment  of  five  thou- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


91 


Beth-el  and  Ai,  on  the  west  side 
of  Ai :  but  Joshua  lodged  that 
night  among  the  people. 

10  And  Joshua  rose  up  early 
in  the  morning,  and  numbered 
the  people,  and  went  up,  he  and 
the  elders  of  Israel,  before  the 
people  to  Ai. 

1 1  ^  And  all  the  people,  even 
the  people  of  war  that  were  with 
him,  went  up,  and  drew  nigh, 
and  came  before  the  city,  and 
pitched  on  the  north  side  of  Ai : 


sand  spoken  of  above,  and  designated 

by   tlie   pronoun   '  them,'   v.  3. 

H  Joshua  lodged  that  night  amon,g 
the  people.  That  is,  the  people  of 
war,  as  they  are  called,  v.  11,  or  in 
other  words  the  25  000.  Others  sup- 
pose the  night  was  spent  at  the  camp 
at  Gilgal,  with  the  main  body  of  the 
people.     But  this  is  less  likely. 

10.  Numbered  the  people.  Or,  Heb. 
IpG"*!  va-yiphkod,  visited,  inspected, 
mustered,  set  in  order.  This  again 
probably  means  the  band  of  25,000, 
whom  he  carefully  reviewed  to  see 
that  they  were  in  perfect  readiness, 
and  that  none  had  withdrawn  them- 
selves during  the  darkness  of  the 
night  preceding.  It  would  thus  also 
appear  more  clearly  when  the  work 
was  done  that  it  was  effected  without 
any  loss  of  men,  whereby  a  new 
ground  of  encouragement  and  con- 
fidence in   God  would  be  afforded. 

yiHe  and  the  elders  of  Israel.    As 

a  kind  of  council  of  war,  to  give 
more  weight  and  solemnity  to  the 
proceeding,  and  to  see  to  the  just  and 
equal  distribution  of  the  spoil.  The 
elders  were  usually  associated  with 
the  leader  in  every  important  meas- 


now  there  was  a  valley  between 
them  and  Ai. 

12  And  he  took  about  five 
thousand  men,  and  set  them  to 
lie  in  ambush  between  Beth-el 
and  Ai,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
city. 

13  And  when  they  had  set  the 
people,  even  all  the  host  that 
was  on  the  north  of  the  city, 
and  their  Hers  in  wait  on  the 
west  of  the  city,  Joshua  went 
that  night  into  the  midst  of  the 
valley. 


ure  that  concerned  the  interests  of  the 
people. 

12.  And  he  took  about  five  thousand 
men.  Rather,  '  he  had  taken.'  The 
Terse  is  apparently  thrown  in  as  a 
parenthesis,  with  a  view  to  give  a 
more  particular  explanation  of  what 
is  said,  in  a  general  way,  v.  3,  9.  In- 
cidents omitted  in  (heir  proper  place 
are  often  brought  in,  in  this  manner, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  interruption 
of  the  previous  narrative. 

13.  Their  Hers  in  wait.  Heb, 
'  their  lying  in  wait,  their  ambus- 
cade,' abst.  for  concrete.  Or  it 
maybe  rendered  '  their  heel,'  i.  e.  the 
hinder  part  of  the  army,  referring  to 

the  party  that   lay  in  ambush. 

IT  Went  that  night  into  the  midst  of 
the  valley.  That  is,  as  is  most 
likely,  very  early  in  the  morning, 
when  it  was  yet  dark,  as  John  20.  1. 
It  seems  hardly  probable,  that  when 
every  thing  was  ready  they  should 
have  remained  inactive  during  a 
whole  day.  We  prefer  the  opinion 
that  Joshua,  having  sent  away  the 
five  thousand  in  the  evening  of  the 
previous  day,  and  having  taken  a 
few  hours'  sleep  with  the  25,000,  rose 


92 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


14  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  when 
the  king  of  Ai  saw  it,  that  they 
hasted  and  rose  up  early,  and 
the  men  of  the  city  went  oat 
against  Israel  to  battle,  he  and 
all  his  people,  at  a  time  appoint- 
ed, before  the  plain :  but  he 
'  wist  not  that  there  were  liers  in 
ambush  against  him  behind  the 
city. 

15  And  Joshua  and  all  Israel 

1  Judg.  20.  34.    Eccles.  9.  12. 

at  a  very  early  hour,  perhaps  a 
little  after  midnight,  and  had  them 
inspected,  which  might  be  speedily 
done  by  the  aid  of  the  officers,  and 
then  went,  at  so  early  an  hour  that 
it  might  still  be  called  night,  into 
the  valley,  perhaps  alone,  to  suppli- 
cate God  for  a  blessing  on  the  en- 
terprise in  which  he  was  now  en- 
gaged, and  which  had  come  so  near 
to  its  crisis ;  or,  it  may  imply  that 
at  this  time  he  led  the  army  through 
the  valley,  and  when  the  day  dawned 
appeared  in  full  view  of  the  city, 
from  whence  the  king  and  people 
immediately  sallied  out  in  pursuit. 

14.  When  the  king  of  Ai  saio  it, 
they  hasted  and  rose  up  early.  That 
is,  when  the  king  was  vafoimed  of 
it,  by  the  city  guards,  an  alarm  was 
immediately  given,  and  the  citizens 
who  had  not  yet  risen  hurried  from 
their  beds,  and  soon  commenced  the 
pursuit.  '  To  see,'  in  scripture  usage, 
often  has  the  sense  of  to  know,  to 

learn,  to  understand. IT  He  and  all 

his  people.  That  is,  all  the  men  of 
war;  for  the  rest,  the  old  men,  the 
women,  and  children,  remained  in 

the  city,  as  appears,  v.  24. If  At  a 

time  appointed.  Heb.  151)3  moed, 
either  an  appointed  time,  or  a  con- 
certed signal^  as  the  same  word  is 


^made  as  if  they  w^ere  beaten 
before  them,  and  fled  by  the 
way  of  the  wilderness. 

16  And  all  the  people  that 
were  in  Ai  were  called  together 
to  pursue  after  them  :  and  they 
pursued  after  Joshua,  and  were 
drawn  away  from  the  city. 

17  And  there  was  not  a  man 
left  in  Ai,  or  Beth-el,  that  went 
not  out  after  Israel :  and  they 

k  Judg.  20.  36,  d-c. 


rendered  where  it  occurs  in  Judg. 
20.  33. 

15.  Made  as  if  they  were  hcatcn. 
Turned  their  backs.  Heb.  lyrJST 
yinnagefi,werelcaten  or  sndtten;  but 
rightly  understood,  as  here  rendered, 
of  apparently  suffering  themselves  to 
be  beaten,  to  make-  a  show  or  pre- 
tence of  being  beaten.  See  a  like 
phraseology.  Gen.  42.  7;  2  Sam.  13. 

5. 'V\Fled  by  the  way  of  the  u-ilder- 

ness.      Lying   between  Ai  and  Jeri- 
cho or  Gilga). 

16.  And  all  the  people  that  were  in 
Ai.  That  is,  all  who  had  not  sallied 
out  before,  all  the  men  able  lo  bear 
arms  who  remained  behind  when 
the  first  body  of  pursuers  issued  forth 
from  the  city.  Some  portion  of  the 
population,  however,  was  still  left, 
who  were  afierwards  slain,  v.  24. 
The  original  word  for  '  v^^re  called 
together' is  Ipyt^  y iz z aekii,  v;h\c\\ 
properly  signifies  ^/.rre  cried  together, 
that  is,  were  summoned  by  mutual 

shouts  and  vociferations. HTJcre 

draionaicay.  Heb.  Ipru^  yinnatheku, 
icere  plucked  or  pulled. 

17.  Was  not  a  man  left  in  Ai.  Not 
a  man  that  was  able  to  bear  arms, 

not  one  fit  for  military  service. 

IT  Or  Bethel.     This  city,  situated  at 
three  miles  distance  from  Ai,  was 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


93 


left  the  city  open,  and  pursued 
after  Israel, 

18  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Joshua,  Stretch  out  the  spear 
that  is  in  thine  hand  toward  Ai ; 
fw  I  will  give  it  into  thine  hand. 
And  Joshua  stretched  out  the 
spear  that  he  had  in  his  hand 
toward  the  city. 

19  And  the  ambush  arose 
quickly  out  of  their  place,  and 
they  ran  as  soon  as  he  had 
stretched  out  his  hand,  and  they 
entered  into  the  city,  and  took 
it,  and  hasted,  and  set  the  city 
on  fire. 

20  And  when  the  men  of  Ai 
looked  behind  them,  they  saw, 
and  behold,  the  smoke   of  the 


probably  confederate  with  it,  and 
aiding  it  M'ith  forces  on  the  present 
occasion. 

18.  Stretch.  o%d  the  spear  that  is  in 
thine  hand.  Tiiat  is,  hold  extended 
or  stretched  out,  continue  it  in  that 
position.  Comp.  v.  26.  This  was 
probably  agreed  upon  as  the  signal 
to  be  given  by  Joshua  to  the  men  in 
ambush,  to  notify  them  of  the  precise 
moment  when  to  issue  forth  from 
their  retreat  and  rush  into  the  city. 
If,  as  some  commentators  suppose, 
a  flag  or  a  burnished  shield  were 
fixed  to  the  end  of  a  long  spear,  pike, 
or  lance,  making  it  conspicuous  from 
a  distance,  it  would  still  belter  an- 
swer the  purpose  intended.  Con- 
joined with  this  there  might  have 
been,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  another 
object  in  thus  elevating  the  spear  on 
this  occasion;  viz.  that  it  should 
serve  like  the  lifting  up  of  Moses' 
hands  in  the  battle  with  Amalek,  as 
a  token  of  the  Divine  presence  and 


city  ascended  up  to  heaven, 
and  they  had  no  power  to  flee 
this  way  or  that  way :  and  the 
people  that  fled  to  the  wilder- 
ness turned  back  upon  the  pur- 
suers. 

21  And  when  Joshua  and  all 
Israel  saw  that  the  ambush  had 
taken  the  city,  and  that  the 
smoke  of  the  city  ascended,  then 
they  turned  again,  and  slew  the 
men  of  Ai. 

22  And  the  other  issued  out 
of  the  city  against  them ;  so 
they  were  in  the  midst  of  Israel, 
some  on  this  side,  and  some  on 
that  side  :  and  they  smote  them, 
so  that  they  'let  none  of  them 
remain  or  escape. 

1  Deut.  7.  2. 

assistance,  a  pledge  of  the  secret  effi- 
cacy of  the  Almighty  arm  in  securing 
them  the  victory.    This  seems  highly 

probable  from  v.  26. TT  Set  the  city 

on  fire.     See  on  v.  8. 

20.  Had  no  poicer  to  flee.  Heb. 
'D'^T^  i^p  lo  yadayim,  no  hand,  i.  e. 
no  place,  no  quarter,  no  direction  to 
which  to  flee,  being  hemmed  in  on 
every  side.  Most  of  the  ancient  ver- 
sions, however,  render  with  ours, 
'power,  ability,  strength,'  in  which 
sense   it  is   certain   that   '  hand '   is 

sometimes  used. ^Pitrsuers.    Heb. 

CjHl^  rod'eph,  picrsiier,  collect,  sing. 

21.  mien  all  Israel  savj.  That  is, 
all  the  Israelites  then  present,  all 
that  were  employed  in  this  service. 
Such  general  expressions  are  often 
to  be  limited  by  the  tenor  of  the  nar- 
rative. 

22.  And  the  other.  Heb.  n^i^l  ve- 
elleh,  and  these,  i,  e-.  those  who  had 

formed  the  ambush. ^So  that  they 

let  none   of  them  remain   or  escape 


94 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


23  And  the  king  of  Ai  they 
took  ahve,  and  brought  him  to 
Joshua. 

24  And  it  came  to  pass  when 
Israel  had  made  an  end  of  slay- 
ing all  the  inhabitants  of  Ai  in 
the  field,  in  the  wilderness 
wherein  they  chased  them,  and 
when  they  were  all  fallen  on  the 
edge   of  the  sword,  until  they 


Heb.  '  so  that  there  remained  not  to 
them  a  survivor  (1.  e.  one  taken 
alive)  or  one  that  escaped.'  They 
were  all  indiscriminately  put  to  the 
sword,  with  the  single  exception  men- 
tioned in  the  next  verse. 

23.  The  king  of  Ai  iheij  took  alive. 
He  was  reserved  for  a  more  exem- 
plary and  ignominious  death  as  a 
warning  to  other  kings  who,  like  him, 
might  be  disposed  to  defy  the  power 
of  Israel. 

24.  Smote  it  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword.  Heb.  ^l^n  ^tj"^  lephi  'hereb, 
with  the  mouth  of  the  sword.  That 
is,  the  old  men,  w^omen,  and  children 
who  remained  in  the  city,  who  had 
not  joined  in  the  pursuit,  v.  16.  17. 

25.  Both  of  men  and  women.  Heb. 
\W^  IS"!  'IJ'iK^   m'eish  ve-ad  ishah, 

from  the  man   to    the    icomaii. 

IT  Twelve  thousand,  even  all  the  men  of 
Ai.  It  seems  scarcely  credible  that 
this  number  should  have  included  all 
that  were  slain  on  this  occasion,  as  it 
would  leave  the  fighting  men  not 
more  than  two  or  three  thousand,  and 
yet  this  mere  handful  daring  to  go 
forth  against  a  force  of  between  twen- 
ty and  thirty  thousand  !  Can  we  be- 
lieve them  so  infatuated,  doomed 
though  t'iey  were  to  destruction  1 
We  are  constrained  therefore  to  un- 
derstand the  twelve  thousand  of  the 
eftective  men  of  arms,  the  sense  in 


were  consumed,  that  all  the  Isra- 
elites returned  unto  Ai,  and  smote 
it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

25  And  so  it  was,  that  all  that 
fell  that  day,  both  of  men  and 
women,  ivere  twelve  thousand, 
even  all  the  men  of  Ai. 

26  For  Joshua  drew  not  hi? 
hand  back  wherewith  he  stretch- 
ed out  the  spear,  until  he  had 


which  the  phrase  '  men  of  Ai '  occurs 
in  V.  20.  21,  as  also  the  sing.  •  man,' 
V.  17.  The  assertion  of  the  verse  we 
suppose  to  be,  that  the  number  of  the 
men  of  war  who  perished,  together 
with  their  whole  families,  old  men, 
women,  and  children,  was  twelve 
thousand.  The  latter  are  not  express- 
ly but  implicitly  included  in  the  enu- 
meration, and  the  proportion  which 
they  bore  to  the  fighting  men  is  a 
mere  matter  of  inference.  They 
w^ere  probably  at  least  thrice  as  many. 
26.  For  Joshua  dreio  not  his  hand 
back,  &c.  The  object  of  these  words 
seems  to  be  to  assign  the  reason  of 
the  utter  and  unsparing  de.-^truction 
of  the  people  of  Ai.  The  movements 
of  Israel  were  directed  by  the  uplifted 
spear  of  Joshua.  As  long  as  that 
continued  stretched  out  they  were 
to  persist  in  the  work  of  slaughter. 
When  it  Avas  let  down  they  were  to 
cease.  This  shows  that  the  stretch- 
ing out  of  the  spear  was  not  designed 
merely  as  a  signal  to  the  men' in  am- 
bu?h,  for  in  this  case  the  continuance 
of  the  act  would  have  been  unneces- 
sary. It  was  doubtless  intended  to 
answer  the  same  end  as  the  uplifted 
hands  of  Moses  on  the  occasion  be- 
fore referred  to,  that  is.  as  a  visible 
sign  of  the  presence  and  agency  of 
Omnipotence  in  1  ehalf  of  his  people 
as  long  as  it  continued  to  be  extend- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


96 


utterly  destroyed  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Ai. 

27  "^Only  the  cattle  and  the 
spoil  of  that  city  Israel  took  for 
a  prey  unto  themselves,  accord- 
ing unto  the  word  of  the  Lord 
which  he  "  commanded  Joshua. 

m  Numb.  31.  22,  26.    »  ver.  2. 

ed.  To  the  judgment  of  sense  there 
was  perhaps  little  connexion  between 
Joshua's  holding  forth  his  spear  and 
the  success  of  the  combatants  at  a 
distance,  and  it  might  have  appeared 
that  he  would  have  been  better  em- 
ployed at  the  head  of  the  army,  ani- 
mating and  directing  them.  But  he 
knew  who  alone  could  give  the  vic- 
tory, and  that  a  compliance  with 
God's  commands  was  the  surest 
means  of  obtaining  help  from  Him. 
Hence  without  any  apprehensions  as 
to  the  issue,  he  maintained  his  stand 
before  God,  and  held  forth  his  spear 
till  all  his  enemies  were  destroyed. 
Such  is  the  confidence  and  persever- 
ance which  the  Christian  is  to  evince 
in  his  conflicts  with  sin  and  Satan, 
notwithstanding  the  apparently  little 
connexion  between  his  poor  eflTorts 
and  the  destruction  of  such  mighty 
foes.  It  is  perhaps  in  allusion  to  this 
circumstance  that  the  phrase  '  stretch- 
ing out  the  hand  against '  is  employ- 
ed by  the  prophets  as  equivalent  to 
contending  with,  or  fighting  against. 
Thus  Is.  5.  25,  '  Therefore  is  the  an- 
ger of  the  Lord  kindled  against  his 
people,  and  he  hath  stretched  forth  his 
hand  against  them,  and  hath  smitten 
them:  and  the  hills  did  tremble  and 
their  carcasses  are  torn  in  the  midst 
of  the  streets.  For  all  this  his  anger 
is  not  turned  away,  but  his  hand  is 
stretched  out  still,'  i.  e.  his  judgments  \ 


28  And  Joshua  burnt  Ai,  and 
made  it  °an  heap  for  ever,  even 
a  desolation  unto  this  day. 

29  PAnd  the  king  of  Ai  he 
hanged  on  a  tree  until  even-tide, 
'^and  as  soon  as  the  sun  was 
down,  Joshua  commanded  that 

o  Deut.  1-3.  16.  P  ch.  10.  26.  Ps.  107.  40. 
and  110.  5.     n  Deut.  21.  23.     ch.  10.  27. 

still  continue  as  did  the  slaughter  of 
the  Aiites  while  Joshua's  outstretched 

spear  was  not  withdrawn. ^  Until 

he  had  utterly  destroyed.  Heb.  C^^np! 
he' he  rim,  had  devoted  to  a  curse. 

28.  Made  it  an  heap  for  ever.  Heb. 
t5pl3>  pri  telolctvi,  an  heap  of  eternity, 
i.  e.  an  everlasting  heap,  a  perpetual 
pile  of  ruins.  The  meaning  is,  it  was 
made  such  for  a  long  time,  through 
a  long  tract  of  ages;  a  frequent 
sense  of  the  phrase  *  for  ever.'  It 
seems  to  have  been  rebuilt  about  a 
thousand  years  afterwards,  by  the 
Benjamites,  Neh.  11.  31,  under  the 

name  of  Aija  or  Aiya. IT  Unto  this 

day.     Wear  the  close  of  Joshua's  life. 

29.  The  king  of  Ai  he  hanged.  The 
kings  of  the  devoted  nations  were 
dealt  with  with  more  exemplary  se- 
verity than  the  common  people,  ke- 
cause  they  were  more  deeply  crimi- 
nal, both  in  having  formerly  by  their 
connivance  encouraged  the  abomina- 
tions of  their  subjects,  and  in  now 
instigating  them  to  resistance,  when 
they  might  and  should  have  known 
that  resistance  was  vain.  In  the  pre- 
sent case,  though  the  king  of  Ai  was 
taken  alive  and  brought  to  .Toshua, 
yet  it  is  not  certain  that  he  was  not 
first  put  to  death  in  some  other  way, 
and  his  body  hung  upon  a  tree  after 
his  execution  as  a  mark  of  the  ut- 
most disgrace  and  detestation.  Upon 
consulting  the  following   passages, 


96 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


they  should  take  his  carcass 
down  from  the  tree^  and  cast  it 
at  the  entering  of  the  gate  of  the 
city,  and  "■  raise  thereon  a  great 

r  ch.  7.  26,  and  10.  27;     s  Deut.  27.  4,  5. 

this  opinion  will  appear  far  more 
plausible  than  the  one  which  main- 
tains that  he  was  first  hnng,  a  mode 
of  capital  punishment  that  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  customary  in 
those  early  days,  ch.  10. 26  ;  2  Sam.  4. 

12  ;  1  Sam.  31.  8-10. ^lAs  soon  as 

the  sun  v:as  doivn.  This  was  accord- 
ing to  the  law,  Deut.  21.  22,  23, '  If  a 
man  have  committed  a  sin  worthy  of 
death,  and  he  be  to  be  put  to  death, 
and  thou  hang  him  on  a  tree ;  his 
body  shall  not  remain  upon  the  tree. 
but  thou  shalt  in  any  wise  bury  him 

that  day.' ^Cast  it  at  the  entering 

of  the  gate.  The  gates  of  cities  were 
usually  the  places  of  judgment,  of  the 
transaction  of  the  most  important 
public  business,  and  of  general  re- 
sort and  rendezvous.  We  know  of 
no  other  reason  for  casting  the  dead 
body  of  the  king  of  Ai  in  this  place. 
than  that  it  was  the  most  public  place 
that  could  be  chosen,  one  that  would 
stamp  the  act  with  the  utmost  possi- 
ble notoriety. 

30.  Joshua  biiilt  an  altar — Z7i  mount 
Ebal.  This  was  in  obedience  to  the 
command  given  Deut.  27.  42-48,  on 
which  see  Notes.  Mount  Ebal,  as 
well  as  mount  Gerizim,was  situated 
near  Shechem  in  what  M^as afterwards 
the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  and  not  far 
from  the  ancient  Samaria.  It  was  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  camp 
at  Gilgal,  yet  as  it  was  a  ceremony 
that  had  been  expressly  commanded, 
and  the  performance  of  w^hich  was 
not  to  be  delayed  any  longer  than 
was  absolutely  necessary  after  they 


heap  of  stones,  thai  remaineth 
unto  this  day. 

30  TT  Then  Joshua  built  an  al- 
tar unto  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
'in  mount  Ebal, 


had  entered  Canaan,  Deut.  27,  2,  they 
seem  to  have  penetrated  in  a  body 
through  the  mountainous  regions  that 
intervened  till  they  came  to  the  ap- 
pointed place,  although  no  details  of 
the  journey  thither  are  given.  View- 
ed in  connexion  with  their  then  pre- 
sent circum.stances  the  incident  was 
a  remarkable  one.  While  engaged 
in  the  mid  career  of  conquest,  the, 
busine.-s  of  the  war  is  suddenly  sus- 
pended, and  instead  of  pushing  their 
victories  on  every  side,  after  master- 
ing the  frontier  towns,  they  com- 
mence a  peaceful  march  into  the 
heart  of  the  country  to  attend  upon  a 
religious  solemnity  !  But  God  had 
ordered  it,  and  they  cheerfully  obey- 
ed. Whatsoever  else  stands  still,  the 
service  of  God  must  go  forward. 
Whatever  other  interests  may  sutler, 
our  spiritual  concerns  must  receive 
attention.  But  in  truth  there  is  no 
danger  that  our  w^orldly  interests  7/-z7^ 
suffer  in  consequence  of  a  paramount 
regard  to  the  one  thing  needful.  God 
will  take  them  into  his  own  hand, 
and  see  that  we  are  no  losers  by  any 
thing  done  for  him.  In  the  present 
instance,  we  see  that  his  providential 
care  was  wonderfully  exercised  to- 
wards his  faithful  servants.  Though 
in  the  midst  of  an  enemy's  country, 
as  yet  unconquered,  yet  they  passed 
on  unharmed,  the  terror  of  God  hav- 
ing fallen  upon  the  cities  round  about, 
as  when  Jacob  some  ages  before  had 
passed  through  this  very  region  on 
his  way  to  Bethel,  Gen.  35.  5.  The 
way  of  duty  is  the  way  of  safety. — 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


97 


31  As  Moses  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  commanded  the  children 
of  Isiael,  as  it  is  written  in  the 
'book  of  the  law  of  Moses,  an 
alta-r  of  whole  stones,  over 
which  no  man  hath  lifted  up 
any  iron  :  and  "  they  offered 
thereon  burnt-offerings  unto  the 
Lord,  and  sacrificed  peace- 
offerings. 

32  IT  And  ""he  wrote  there 
upon  the  stones  a  copy  of  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  he  wrote 

t  Ex.  20.  25.  Deut.  27.  5, 6.  u  Ex.  20.  24. 
xDeuc.  27.2,8. 


The  object  of  erecting  the  altar  wa.s 
to  oifer  the  sacrifices  spoken  of  in  the 
next  verse.  It  was  a  federal  trans- 
action in  which  they  were  now  en- 
gaged. The  covenant  was  now  to 
be  renewed  upon  their  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  land  of  promise,  and  a  for- 
mal profession  made  of  their  subjec- 
tion to  the  law,  and  of  their  depend- 
ence for  success  in  all  their  enter- 
prises upon  the  blessing  of  the  Most 
High.  All  this  it  was  proper  should 
be  ratified  b}^  sacrificial  oflerings, 

31.  Over  which  no  man  hath  lifted 
up  any  iroii.  Rather  ■  had  lift  up.' 
The  writer  does  not  intend  to  quote 
the  precise  words  of  the  law.  but 
merely  to  say  that  Joshua  construct- 
ed an  altar  in  accordance  v.-ith  the 
precept  of  Moses,  Ex.  20.  25 ;  Deut. 
27.  5 ;  viz.,  one  over  which  no  man 
had  lifted  up  an  iron  tool. 

32.  Wrote  there  upon  the  stoiies. 
Upon  comparing  this  with  the  injunc- 
tion, Deut.  27.  2-7,  it  appears  quite 
obvious  that  in  addition  to  the  altar 
they  were  required  also  to  erect  a 
number  of  stone  pillars,  and  that  the 
writing  was  to  be  done  upon  the  pil- 
lars, instead  of  upon  the  altar,  for 

9 


in  the  presence  of  the  children 
of  Israel. 

33  And  all  Israel  and  their 
elders,  and  otHcers,  and  their 
judges,  stood  on  this  side  the 
ark  and  on  that  side  before  the 
priests  the  Levites,  ^  which  bare 
the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord,  as  well  Hhe  stranger,  as 
he  that  was  born  among  them  ; 
half  of  them  over  against  mount 
Gerizim,  and  half  of  them  over 
against  mount  Ebal ;  ^  as  Moses 

y  Deut  3L  9,  25.  ^  Deut.  31.  IZ  a  Deut, 
11.  29,  aad  27,  12. 


which  purpose  they  were  previously 

to  be  plastered  over. IT  A  copy  of 

the  law,  Heb.  rTliri  nj'tL'lQ  mishnek 
torah^  a  repetition^  a  duplicate  of  the 
laio.  That  is,  a  copy  of  the  bless- 
ings and  curses  commanded  by  Mo- 
ses ;  not  a  copy  of  the  decalogue,  as 
some  imagine ;  nor  of  the  book  of 
Deuteronomy,  as  others  think  ;  much 
less  of  the  whole  Pentateuch ;  but 
simply  that  part  of  the  l^w  which 
contained  the  blessings  and  curses, 
and  which  was  to  be  read  on  this 
solemn  occasion.  See  Note  on  Deut, 
27.8. 

33.  Before  the  priests^  the  Levites, 
That  is,  in  view  of  the  priests,  the 
Levites ;  not  that  the  elders,  oflicers, 
and  judges  stood  nearer  the  ark  than 
the  priests,  but  that  they  so  surround- 
ed the  ark  that  the  priests  who  were 
carrying  it  had  a  full  view  of  them. 
In  like  manner  it  might  be  said  that 
a  great  crowd  in  a  funeral  were  be- 
fore the  bearers  and  pall-bearers,  if 

they  stood   full   in  their  view. 

^Over  against  mount  Gerizim  and 
over  against  mount  Ebal.  For  an. 
account  of  these  mountains  see  on 
Deul.   11.  29,     The  two  divisions 


98 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


the  servant  of  the  Lord  had 
commanded  before,  that  they 
should  bless  the  people  of  Israel. 

34  And  afterwaid  ^  he  read  all 
the  words  of  the  law,  "  the  bless- 
ings and  cursings,  according  to 
all  that  is  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law. 

35  There  was  not  a  word  of 
all  that  Moses  commanded, 
which  Joshua  read  not  before 
all  the  conoieoration  of  Israel, 

DO  ' 

''  with  the  women,  and  the  little 

b  DeiU.  31.  11.  Neh.  8.  3.  c  Dent.  28.  2, 
15,  45,  and  ^9.  20,  21,  and  30.  19.  <a  Deut. 
31.  12.    e  ver.  33. 

seem  not  to  have  stood  upon  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountains,  but  were  ranged 
along  their  base  and  some  vvaj'  up 
their  sides,  that  they  might  be  nearer 
the  ark,  which  occupied  the  valley 
between,  and  more  conveniently  hear 

the  reading  of  the  law. ^  TJiat 

ihey  shovJd  bless  ike  people.  And  curse 
also,  though  the  last  is  not  expressly 
mentioned  ;  it  is  however  plainly  to 
be  inferred,  both  from  the  original 
command  of  Moses,  Deut.  27.  13,  and 
from  the  phraseology  of  the  next 
verse, 

34.  And  afleru-ard  he  read.  That 
is,  he  commanded  the  priests  or  Le- 
vitesto  read,  as  is  evident  from  Deut. 
27.  14.  In  innumerable  instances  in 
the  Scriptures,  a  person  is  said  to  do 
that  which  he  orders  or  procures  to 

be  done. IT  The  words  of  the  late, 

the  blessings  and  cursings.  All  the 
sanctions  of  the  law;  from  which 
and  from  v.  35,  it  would  seem  that 
much  more  was  read  on  this  occasion 
than  was  written  on  the  stones. 

35.  With  the  icomen  and  little  ones. 
It  was  a  word  that  concerned  all,  and 
all  of  all  sexes  and  ages  were  pre- 


ones,  and    'the    strangers  that 
were  conversant  among;  them. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

AND  it  came  to  pass,  when 
all  the  kings  which  were 
on  this  side  Jordan,  in  the  hills, 
and  in  the  valleys,  and  in  all  the 
coasts  of  "the  great  sea  over 
against  Lebanon,  ""the  Hittite, 
and  the  Amorite,  the  Canaanite, 
the  Perizzite,  the  Hi  vile,  and 
the  Jebusite  heard  thereof ; 
2  That  they  "gathered  them 

.a  Numb.  34.  6.    b  Exod.  3.  17,  and  23.  23. 
c  Ps.  83.  3,  5. 


sent,  giving  a  solemn  and  heedful 
attention  to  what  was  read.  Child- 
ren would  be  deeply  impressed  by 
the  solemnities  of  the  scene,  and  a 
salutary  fear  of  offending  God  would 

sink  into  their  lender  hearts. U  The 

strangers  that  were  coiiversant  among 
them.  Heb.  tJD^pn  '^^HH  "13.1  hagger 
hahblek  belcirbam,  the  stranger  that 
v:alked  among  them.  Proselytes. 
No  other  strangers  can  well  be  sup- 
posed to  have  been  present  at  this 
time. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

1.  On  this  side  Jordan.  The  west 
side ;  where  the  children  of  Israel 
now  were,  and  where  the  writer  was 
at  the  time  of  penning  this  narrative. 

ir  Heard  thereof.     That  is,  of  the 

remarkable  events  which  had  trans- 
pired since  the  Israelites  had  entered 
Canaan ;  of  the  sacking  of  Jericho 
and  Ai,  and  of  their  being  now  as- 
sembled together  at  Mount  Ebal. 

2.  They  gathered  themselves  together 
to  fight.  Entered  into  a  league, 
agreed  to  form  a  confederacy.  It 
does  not   appear  that  they  actually 


B   C.  1151 


CHAPTER  IX. 


99 


S'lvi  s  togctl.er,  to  fight  with 
Joohua  airiwith  Israel,  with  one 
accord. 


united  their  forces  at  this  time,  but 
they  now  consulted  together  and 
agreed  to  do  it.  Subsequent  erents, 
however,  seem  to  have  deranged 
their  plans,  and  pre  vented  a  combined 
attack  till  some  time  afterwards. — 
In  this  conduct  we  see,  as  in  a  glass, 
the  strange  infatuation  of  the  wicked  ! 
Though  seeing  and  feeling  that  the 
hand  of  God  is  unquestionably 
against  them,  yet,  instead  of  repent- 
ing and  humbling  themselves  before 
him.  these  devoted  kings,  who,  like 
Ahaz,  'in  their  distress  trespassed 
yet  more  against  the  Lord,'  madly 
seek  by  power  and  policy  to  counter- 
act and  defeat  his  designs  !  '  Thou 
hast  stricken  them,  but  they  have 
not  grieved  ;  thou  hast  consumed 
them,  but  they  have  refused  to  receive 
correction ;    they    have    made   their 

faces  harder  than  a  rock.' IT  With 

one  accord.  Heb.  nns^  nS  piih  e/idd, 
with  one  mouth ;  expressive  of  their 
entire  unanimity  in  the  measure. 
Though  of  ditTerent  clans,  having 
different  interests,  and  doubtless  here- 
tofore often  at  variance  with  one 
another,  yet  they  are  ready  to  make 
common  cau.^e  against  the  people  of 
God,  showing  that  the  hatred  of  the 
righteous  is  one  of  the  strongest  bonds 
of  union  between  wicked  men.  '  And 
the  same  day  Pilate  and  Herod  were 
made  friends  together  ;  for  before 
they  were  at  enmity  between  them- 
selves.' What  an  admonition  to 
Christians  to  cease  from  dissension, 
to  give  up  their  petty  feuds  and  ani- 
mosities, to  sacrifice  party  interests 
to  the  public  welfare,  and  cordially 


3  IT  And  when  the  inhabitants 
of '^Gibeon  "heard  what  Joshua 
had  done  unto  Jericho  and  to  Ai, 

a  ch.  10. 2.    2  Sam.  51.  1,  2.    e  ch.  6.  27. 


unite  against  the  common  enemies 
of  God's  kingdom  among  men. 

3.  The  inhabitants  of  Gibeon.  Gib- 
eon  was  a  city  of  the  Hiviles,  proba- 
bly its  capital.  In  the  division  of  the 
land  it  fell  to  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
and  was  situated  on  a  hill  about  six 
miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  At  the 
present  time,  a  small  village  called 
Geeb,  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient 
city.  The  inhabitants  of  this  place 
declined  entering  into  the  alliance 
offensive  and  defensive  abov'e  men- 
tioned. This  might  have  been  owing 
to  their  form  of  government,  which 
left  more  scope  for  the  good  sense  of 
the  people.  Had  they  had  a  king, 
of  which  we  nowhere  read,  he  would 
probably  have  been  induced,  in  the 
pride  of  his  heart,  to  join  the  con- 
federacy ;  but  this  city,  with  the  three 
others  mentioned  v.  17,  seem  to  have 
been  governed  by  elders  or  senators, 
V.  11,  who  consulted  the  common 
safety  more  than  their  own  personal 
dignity.  In  this  case  of  the  Gibeon- 
ites,  we  may  see  a  striking  instance 
of  the  different  effects  produced  by 
the  same  tidings  upon  different  minds. 
The  news  of  the  victorious  progress 
of  Israel  excites  the  several  kings  to 
resistance,  but  moves  the  Gibeonites 
to  think  of  making  peace  with  their 
invaders.  In  the  same  manner  the 
Gospel  message  is  a  savor  of  life  to 
some,  and  of  death  to  others.  Some 
it  irritates  and  provokes  to  deadly 
and  self-destructive  oppo.'^ition,  others 
it  softens,  mells,  persuades  to  surren- 
der, and  brings  to  saving  repentance. 
In  such  a  difference  Divine  sever- 


100 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


4  They  did  work  wilily,  and 
went  and  made  as  if  they  had 
been  ambassadors,  and  took  old 

eignty  must  be  acknowledged,  though 
the  obstinately  impenitent  are  left 
without  excuse. 

4.  They  did  ifork  wilily.  Heb, 
'  they  also  did  work  wilily,'  i.  e.  cun- 
ningly, shrewdl}',  craftily.  The  term 
'  also,'  which  is  omitted  in  our  trans- 
lation, but  occurs  in  the  original, 
carries  in  it  a  reference  to  the  course 
adopted  by  the  Canaanitish  kings. 
They  adopted  the  measures  whicli 
seemed  to  ihem  the  wisest  and  most 
politic,  under  the  circumstances.  In 
like  manner  the  Gibeonites  o2so  de- 
termined to  exercise  their  ingenuity 
in  the  present  emergency,  but  they 
had  recourse  to  a  subtle  stratagem, 
entirely  different  from  the  more  open, 
straightforward,  but  ruinous  course 
pursiied  by  their  neighbors.  As  to  the 
moral  character  of  this  device  of  the 
Gibeoni;es,  we  can  only  say  of  it,  as 
our  Saviour  said  of  the  unjust  stew- 
ard, 'they  acted  wisely  in  their  gene- 
ration ;'  they  did  what  the  common 
maxims  of  mere  worldly  prudence 
dictated  under  the  circumstances,  and 
yet  their  fraud  and  prevarication  can- 
not be  jusiified,  nor  have  we  any  rea- 
son to  think  they  fared  so  well  by  em- 
ploying it,  as  they  would  have  done 
without  it.  A  more  simple  and  up- 
right course  would  undoubtedly  have 
secured  to  them  far  greater  advan- 
tages. Some  correct  notions  of  the 
God  of  Israel  they  had  certainly  form- 
ed, V.  9,  10,  and  these  should  have 
prompted  some  other  expedient  than 
that  of  l)ung  and  deceit.  They  should 
have  folio v.-ed  up  the  little  light  they 
had,  and  inquired  into  the  procuring 
causes    of   God's    severity  against 


sacks  upon  their  asses,  and 
wine-bottles,  old,  and  rent,  and 
bound  up ; 


them.  They  should  have  acknow- 
ledged that  it  was  their  heinous  sins 
which  were  at  the  bottom  of  all  their 
troubles  ;  and  having  humbled  them- 
selves in  deep  repeniance,  and  trust- 
ing to  Providence  for  the  issue,  should 
have  come  to  the  Israelites,  and  sim- 
ply submitted  themselves  without  op- 
position or  fraud,  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  they  would  have  been 
spared,  as  Rahab  and  her  relations 
had  been.  Lying  and  hypocrisy  al- 
Avays  defeat  themselves  in  the  long 
run  ;  their  success  is  only  temporary, 
while  truth  and  honesty  will  always 
ultimately  redound  to  the  safety, 
prosperity,  and   happiness  of  those 

who  adhere  to  them. %  As  if  they 

had  been  ambassadors.  The  root  of 
"^"^"2.  tzir,  ambassador,  properly  de- 
notes a  hinge ;  because  an  ambassa- 
dor is  a  person  upon  whom  the  busi- 
ness of  his  embassy  turns  as  upon  a 
hinge.  So  the  Latin  cardinalis,  car- 
dinal, from  cardo,  a  hinge,  was  the 
title  of  the  prime  minister  of  the  em- 
peror Theodosius  ;  but  it  is  now  ap- 
plied only  to  the  Pope's  electors  and 
counsellors,  though  the  original  rea- 
son probably  holds  with  equal  force 
here  too.  They  are  the  hinges  upon 
which  the  vast  and  complicated  in- 
terests of  the  Papacy  turn.  See  Note 
on  the  'lords'  and  'princes'  (Heb. 
axles)  of  the  Philistines,  ch.  13.  3. 

IT  Took  old  sacks.  '  Of  cou  rse  they 

profess  to  do  what  they  would  actu- 
ally have  done  had  they  really  come 
from  a  distant  place.  Hence  we  learn 
that  at  this  time  little  accommodation 
except  that  of  lodging,  if  that,  was 
expected  upon  a  journey,  and  that 


B.  C.  1451. J  CHAPTER  IX.  101 

5  And  old   shoes   and  clouted   upon    their  feet,  and    old  gar- 


every  one  carried  provisions  and 
drink  with  him,  as  at  pre^^ent.  This 
rendered  necessary  their  j^acks,  doubt- 
less for  containing  their  provisions 
and  baggage.  All  travellers  now 
carry  sacks  with  them  for  such  pur- 
poses. If  they  can  afford  it,  these 
sacks  are  large,  containing  a  strange 
assortment  of  articles — of  dress,  bed- 
ding, food,  and  even  of  pots  and  pans 
for  cooking  the  necessary  meals. 
These  are  usually  carried  on  ani- 
mals hired  for  the  purpose,  or  on  the 
animal  which  the  servant,  if  any, 
rides.  A  poorer  traveller  reduces 
his  baggage  to  narrower  limits,  so 
that  he  wants  but  small  bags,  w'hich, 
being  thrown  over  the  back  of  his 
ass  or  mule,  he  rides  upon  himself 
Those  who  have  but  one  ass  to  carry 
themselves  and  baggage,  frequently 
dismount  and  walk  a  considerable 
part  of  the  way  to  relieve  their 
beasts.  This  may  account  for  the 
manner  in  which  the  clothes  and 
shoes  of  the  Gibeonites  "".vere'supposed 
to  have  been  worn  out  by  long  tra- 
vel, although  they  had  asses  on 
which  to  ride.  The  bags  which  tra- 
vellers use  are  commonly  of  stout 
woollen  cloth  or  carpeting,  some- 
times strengthened  with  leather  to 
keep  out  the  wet.  Bags  of  hair  cioth 
are  also  sometimes  used  fcr  this  pur- 
pose, and  almost  always  for  carrying 
the  corn  and  chopped  straw  for  the 

cattle.'     Pict.    Bib. IT  And    vnne 

bottles,  old,  &c.  Pretending  to  have 
come  from  a  very  distant  country, 
and  that  their  sacks  and  the  skins 
that  served  them  for  carrying  their 
wine  and  water  were  worn  out  by 
the  length  of  the  journey.  Sir  John 
Chardin  informs  us  that  the  Arabs, 
9* 


and  all  those  who  lead  a  wandering 
life,  keep  their  water,  milk,  and  other 
liquors  in  leathern  bottles.  They 
keep  more  fresh  in  them  than  in  any 
other  way.  These  leathern  bottles 
are  made  of  goat  skins.  When  the 
animal  is  killed  they  cut  ofi'  its  feet 
and  its  head,  and  then  draw^  it  out 
of  the  skin,  which  is  thus  left  nearly 
whole.  They  afterwards  sew  up 
the  places  where  the  legs  and  the  tail 
were  cut  otF,  and  when  it  is  filled 
they  tie  it  about  the  neck.  These 
nations  and  the  country  people  of 
Persia  never  go  a  journey  without  a 
small  leathern  bottle  of  water  hang- 
ing by  their  side  like  a  scrip.  These 
bottles  are  frequently  rent,  when  old 
and  much  used ;  but  they  are  capa- 
ble of  being  repaired.  This  they 
do  sometimes  by  putting  in  a 
piece,  sometimes  by  gathering  up  the 
wounded  place  in  the  manner  of  a 
purse  ;  sometimes  they  put  in  a  round 
flat  piece  of  w.ood,  and  by  these 
means  stop  the  hole.  Similar  bottles 
are  still  used  in  Spain,  and  are  call- 
ed borrachas.  See  Burdefs  Orient. 
Cust.,  vol.  i.,  p.  54. 

5.  Old  shoes  and  clouted.  This  lat- 
ter epithet,  in  the  time  of  Shakspeare, 
when  applied  to  shoes,  meant  such 
as  had  nails  driven  into  the  soles  to 
strengthen  them.  (Cymb.,  Act  IV ., 
Sc  2.)  In  this  sense  it  may  be  derived 
from  the  French  word  cZow,  a  nail. 
But  this  does  not  seem  to  correspond 
well  with  the  original, which  is  a  deri- 
vative from  a  root  signifying  i^o  spot, 
to  patch,  to  spot  with  patches.  For  this 
reason  it  is  supposed  by  Adam  Clarke, 
with  much  plausibility,  to  come  from 
the  old  Saxon  chit,  a  clout,  a  rag,  or 
small  piece  of  cloth,  used  for  piecing 


102 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


ments  upon  them ;  and  all  the 
bread  of  their  provision  was  dry 
and  mouldy. 

6  And  they  went    to  Joshua 
^unto  the  camp  at  Gilgal,  and 

or  patching.  This  makes  our  pre- 
sent version  to  express  very  precisely 
the  spirit  of  the  original.  As  their 
shoes  or  sandals  were  made  of  skins 
in  those  early  ages,  it  means  that 
those  they  now  wore  were  in  a  mise- 
rable tattered  condition,  having  been 

often  patched,  pieced,  or  meaded. 

IT  The  bread  of  their  provision  icas 
dry  and  mouldy.  Heb.  Q''np3  7iik- 
kiidim,  pricked,  i.  e.  spotted,  speckled ; 
bread  marked  with  spots  of  mould, 
to  which  the  original  term  is  here 
applied.  '  The  bread  commonly  used 
in  the  East  is  calculated  to  last  only 
for  the  day  on  which  it  is  baked ; 
in  a  day  or  two  more  it  becomes  ex- 
ceedingly hard  and  unfit  for  use. 
This  common  bread  could  not  there- 
fore be  that  usually  employed  for 
daily  food,  for  then  its  dry  condition 
would  not  serve  as  an  indication  of 
the  length  of  the  journey  they  had 
taken.  It  must  rather  have  been  a 
sort  of  bread  which  will  keep  a  con- 
siderable time,  though  it  does  ulti- 
mately become  hard  and  mouldy. 
They  have  such  bread  in  the  East, 
the  use  of  which  is  almost  exclu- 
sively confined  to  travellers.  It  is  a 
kind  of  biscuit,  usually  made  in  the 
shape  of  large  rings,  nearly  an  inch 
thick,  and  four  or  five  inches  in  di- 
ameter. The  bread  is,  when  new, 
very  firm,  and  rather  crisp  when 
oroken ;  but,  not  being  so  well  pre- 
nared  as  our  biscuits,  it  becomes 
gradually  harder,  and  at  last  mouldy 
'rom  the  moisture  which  the  baking 
nad  left  in  it.    In  general  it  is  sel- 


said  unto  him,  and  to  the  men 
of  Israel,  We  be  come  from  a 
far  country  :  now  therefore 
make  ye  a  league  with  us. 

fch.  5.  10. 


dom  used  till  previously  soaked  in 
water.  The  bread  of  the  Gibeonites 
may  have  been  something  of  this 
sort.  There  is  another  kind  of  bread, 
which  will  keep  as  well,  or  better. 
This  is  the  thin  broad  sheet  of  crisp 
wafer-bread,  as  thin  as  wrapping 
paper,  the  preparation  of  which  has 
been  described  in  the  note  to  Lev.  2. 
4.  But  this  is  seldom  used  for  a 
journey,  being  speedily  reduced  to 
powder  by  the  action  in  travelling.' 
Pict.  Bib. 

6.  Arid  to  the  men  of  Israd.  Heb. 
bi^^D'i  m^J^  ish  Yisrael,  the  man  or 
manhood  of  Israel ;  collect,  sing,  for 
plur.  Not  to  the  whole  body  of  the 
people,  but  to  the  heads,  elders,  or 
princes  of  the  congregation,  v.  15-21, 
who  in  all  important  matters  acted  in 
the  name  of  the  rest.  In  this  sense, 
as  a  term  of  eminence  or  dignity,  the 
original  T2J"'K  ish,  man,  is  often  used. 

^Make  ye  a  league  with  us.  Heb. 

rr^i:!  ITTO  kirtho  beriih,  cut  a  cove- 
nant ivith  us ;  on  which  see  Notes 
on  Gen.  15.  10.  The  assertion  that 
they  came  from  a  far  country,  is 
made  as  a  reason  for  the  Israelites 
complying  with  their  request.  From 
V.  24  it  appears  that  they  were  well 
acquainted  witl^  the  Divine  mandate 
in  regard  to  the  destruction  of  the 
devoted  nations,  and  they  may  have 
heard  of  the  exception  mentioned 
Deut.  20.  15  in  favor  of  the  cities 
which  were  very  far  off,  and  which 
were  not  of  the  cities  of  these  na- 
tions. Of  this  exception  they  in- 
tended to  take  advantage. 


B,  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   IX. 


103 


7  And  the  men  of  Israel  said 
unto  the  "Hivites,  Perad venture 
ye  dwell  among  us;  and  ""hovv 
shall  we  make  a  league  with 
you  ? 

?  ch.  11.  19.  h  Exod.  23.  32.  Deut.  7.  2, 
aad  20.  16.    Judg.  2.  2. 

7.  And  the  men  of  Israel.  Heb. 
^i^'^'iD"!  12:"'fi*1  ve-ish  Yisrael,  and  the 
vian  of  Israel ;    i.  e.  the   elders  or 

princes,  as  above. '^Said  uato  tJie 

Hivites.  Heb.  '  ihe  Hivite.'  This  is 
the  first  intimation  of  the  particular 
nation  to  which  the  Gibeonites  be- 
longed. In  Josh,  11.  19  it  is  stated  still 

more   expressly. IT  Peradt:enlure 

ye  dwell  avwng  ^is.  Heb.  "^mpH  be- 
iirbi,  '  dwell  in  my  midst.'  They 
speak,  in  the  confidence  of  faith,  as 
if  they  were  already  actual  possess- 
ors and  occupants,  old  settled  inha- 
bitants,  of   the   region  which   God 

had  covenanted   to   give  them. 

llAndkow  shall  we  make  a  league  v:ith 
you  7  Seeing  God  has  expressly  for- 
bidden our  forming  any  such  alli- 
ance, Ex.  23.  31 ;  31. ;  34. 12.  Deut. 
7.  2.  They  speak  as  acting  entirely 
according  to  orders,  and  as  having 
no  discretion  in  the  case;  and  by 
putting  their  answer  into  the  form 
of  a  question  do  virtually  appeal  to 
the  consciences,  the  innate  sense  of 
right,  of  these  heathen  people,  for 
the  propriety  of  their  conduct  in  re- 
fusing. A  contrary  course  even  the 
Gibeonites  themselves  knew  was  not 
even  to  be  thought  of  Some  duties 
are  so  obvious  that  we  may  unhesi- 
tatingly take  it  for  granted  that  the 
consciences  of  the  worst  of  men  do 
really  side  with  us  in  regard  to  them. 
8.  We,  are  thy  servants.  We  are 
willing  to  make  any  concessions ;  do 
but  grant  our  request,  and  we  will 


8  And  they  said  unto  Joshua, 
'We  are  thy  servants.  And 
Joshua  said  unto  them,  Who 
are  ye  ?  and  from  whence  come 
ye? 

9  And    they    said    unto    him, 

iDeut.  20.  11.     2  Kings  10.  5. 


submit  to  any  terms  you  may  see  fit 
to  propose.  Fix  your  own  condi- 
tions, even  should  they  require  us  to 
become  your  tributaries  and  bond- 
men for  life.  They  clogged  their  pur- 
pose with  no  reservations.  They 
surrendered  themselves  uncondition- 
ally to  the  mercy  of  Joshua  and  the 
princes  oi'  Israel.  Liberty,  properly, 
military  renown,  were  all  merged  in 
the  paramount  desire  for  preserva- 
tion from  the  edge  of  the  sword. 
They  did  not  appeal  to  the  avarice 
of  Israel,  as  the  Shechamites  and 
Samaritans,  in  after  days,  appealed 
to  that  of  Ishinael,  the  son  of  Nehe- 
miah,  Jer,  41.  8,  '  Slay  us  not,  for 
we  have  treasures  in  the  field,  of 
wheat,  and  of  barley,  and  of  oil, 
and  of  honey ;'  but  they  made  an 
unlimited ofiering  of  themselves,  and 
of  their  possessions,  to  be  dealt  with 
as  Joshua  might  choose.  '  All  that 
a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life,' 
How  worthless  then  should  any  sa- 
crifice appear,  compared  with  the 
life  of  the  soul !  One  thing  is  need- 
ful ;  that  secured,  the  rest  is  of  but 

little  value. H  Who  are  ye  7  and 

from  ichcnce  come,  ye  7  Probably  this 
very  intimation  of  such  unconditional 
submission  tended  to  excite  the  sus- 
picions of  Joshua,  especially  as  they 
were  so  backward  to  name  the  coun- 
try from  whence  they  came. 

9.  Because  of  the  name  of  the  Lord 
thy  God.  Because  of  what  we  have 
heard  of  that  name :  because  of  the 


104 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  145L 


•'From  a  very  far  country  thy 
servants  are  come,  because  of 
the  name  of  the  Lord  th}^  God  : 
for  we  have  '  heard  the  fame  of 
him,  and  all  that  he  did  in 
Egypt, 

10  And  "^all  that  he  did  to  the 
two  kings  of  the  Amorites,  that 
were  beyond  Jordan,  to  Sihon 
king  of  Heshbon,  and  to  Og 
king  of  Bashan,  which  was^  at 
Ashtaroth. 

11  \Yherefore  our  elders,  and 

k  Dcut.  20.  15.  1  Ex.  15.  l-k  Josh.  2.  10. 
M  Num.  21.  ai,  33. 


reverence  with  which  it  has  inspired 
us;  and  because  we  are  conv^inced 
that  it  is  above  every  name.  They 
pretend  to  have  been  moved  mainly 
by  religious  motives  in  taking  this 
journey,  which  was  in  part  doubtless 
true,  but  it  w-as  truth  mixed  with 
both  falsehood  and  hypocrisy.  This 
pretence,  however,  was  one  well  cal- 
culated to  prevail  with  the  Israelites, 
for  those  who  are  guileless  them- 
selves are  least  suspicions  of  guile 
in  others,  and  nothing  wins  more 
upon  the  simple-heartedness  of  good 
men  than  the  appearance  of  piety 
and  devotion  where  it  was  little  or 

not  at  all  expected. IT  All  that  he 

did  hi  Egypt.  They  artfully  con- 
fine themselves  to  the  mention  of 
events  that  happened  a  long  time 
ago,  avoiding  any  allusion  to  those 
of  more  recent  occurrence,  such  as 
the  dividing  of  Jordan  and  the  de- 
struction of  Jericho  and  Ai,  as  if 
willing  to  have  it  believed  that  they 
lived  so  far  off  that  the  tidings  of 
them  had  not  yet  reached  their  ears. 
11.  Wherefore  our  ciders, — spalce  to 
'US.  Another  evidence  that  they  did 
not  live  under  a  kingly  but  a  popij- 


all  the  inliabitants  of  our  coun- 
try spake  to  us,  saying,  Take 
victuals  with  you  for  the  jour- 
ney, and  go  to  meet  them,  and 
say  unto  them.  We  are  your 
servants:  therefore  now  make 
ye  a  league  with  us  : 

12  This  our  bread  we  took  hot 
for  our  provision  out  of  our 
houses  on  the  day  we  came 
forth  to  go  unto  you  ;  but  now, 
behold,  it  is  dry,  and  it  is  mouldy: 

13  And  these  bottles  of  wine 
which  vve  filled,  were  new,  and 


}ar  form  of  government. IT  Go  to 

■meet  theyn.  Had  they  deferred  till 
the  Israelites  came  to  the  gates  of 
their  cities,  it  would  have  been  too 
late ;  their  yielding  themselves  up 
would  have  been  of  so  avail.  So 
the  way  to  avoid  a  judgment  is  to 
meet  it  by  repentance.  Sinners  should 
inutate  the  example  of  these  Gibe- 
onites,  and  while  God,  who  is  com- 
ing to  make  war  against  them,  'is 
yet  a  great  way  off,  should  send  an 
ambassage  aad  desire  conditions  of 
peace.'  We  have  as  clear  evidence 
of  God's  determination  to  destroy 
all  the  ungodly,  as  the  Gibeonites 
had  of  his  purpose  to  root  out  the 
Canaanites.  Let  us  learn  then  of 
these  heathens ;  learn  to  come  to  Je- 
sus ere  it  be  loo  late.  Let  us  not 
stay  till  besieged  by  sickness  and 
death.  Nor  let  us  come  covering 
our  design  with  falsehoods,  but  con- 
fessing the  whole  truth.  In  the  old 
and  tattered  garments  of  our  native 
vileness  we  vaay  come.  Chri.st,  the 
true  Joshua,  will  receive  us  and 
make  with  us  a  league  of  I'fe  rnd 
peace  ;  but  let  us  come  saying  at  first 
as  they  did  after  their  imposture  was 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


106 


behold  they  be  rent :  and  these 
our  garments  and  our  shoes  are 
become    old  by  reason  of   the 
very  long  journey. 
14  And  the  men  took  of  their 


discovered,  '  Behold,  we  are  in  thine 
hand :  as  it  seemeth  good  and  right 
unto  thee  to  do  unto  us,  do.' 

14.  And  the  me7t,  took  of  their  vic- 
tuals.   Chal.  '  And  the  men  assented 
to  their  words,  and  consulted  not  the 
oracle  of  God.'      By  the   '  men'  are  j 
meant  those  Avho  are  elsewhere  term-  \ 
ed  the  princes  of   the  congregation, ! 
V.  18.  19.     They  took  the  victuals  | 
into  their  hands  not  to  eat  of  them,  I 
but  to  satisfy  themselves  of  the  truth  j 
of  their  statement.     Some   suppose  i 
the  meaning  to  be  that  they  ate  to- 1 
gether  with  the  Gibeonites  in  token 
of  friendship,  as  is  still  common  in 
the  East,  but  this  is  less  likely,  espe- 1 
cially  as  the  words  may  be  rendered,  I 
'  they  received  the  men  by  reason  of  | 

their  victuals.' IT  And   asked  not  \ 

counsel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  j 
l^\idX  is,  instead  of  asking  as  they 
ought  to  have  done  at  the  lips  of  the 
high  priest,  v/hose  duty  it  was  to  in- 
quire through  the  medium  of  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,  Ex.  28.  30; 
Num.  27.  21 ;  1  Sam.  30.  7,  8.  It  is 
by  no  means  certain,  if  they  had 
sought  the  Divine  direction,  that 
they  would  have  been  commanded 
to  reject  the  suit  of  the  Gibeonites 
and  show  them  no  mercy.  The 
probability  is,  that  upon  anij  of  tfce 
devoted  nations  voluntarily  coming 
forward,  professing  repentance,  re- 
noimc'ing  idolatry,  and  embracing 
the  irue  religion,  the  Israelites  would 
have  been  authorized  by  God  to  spare 
their  lives.     See  on  ch.  11.  19.     But 


victuals,  "  and  asked  not  counsel 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord. 
15  And  Joshua  °made  peace 

n  Numb.  27.  21.  Isai.  30.1,  2.  SeeJudg. 
1.  1.  1  Sam.  22  10,  and  23.  10,  11,  and  30. 
8.  2  Sam.  2.  1,  and  5.  19.  o  ch.  11.  19.  2 
Sam.  21.  2. 


the  circumstance  is  mentioned  here 
as  a  severe  reflection  upon  the  princes 
of  Israel  for  neglect  of  duty,  for 
rashness,  credulity,  and  impolicy. 
They  rushed  precipitately  into  an 
alliance  which  they  had  no  right  to 
form  without  the  express  sanction  of 
Jehovah,  and  their  '  lips  became  a 
snare  to  their  souls.'  In  like  manner 
how  often  do  men  now  involve  them- 
selves in  dangers  and  difficulties, 
and  hedge  up  their  own  way  with 
troubles,  because  they  ask  not  coun- 
sel at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord.  They 
listen  with  a  yielding  ear  to  plausi- 
ble representations,  hurry  forward  in 
their  chosen  schemes,  and  enter 
heedlessly  into  doubtful  connexions 
without  weighing  the  consequences. 
But  sooner  or  later  we  shall  find  that 
no  business  or  interest  truly  prospers 
in  which  we  engage  without  the 
counsel  and  approbation  of  Heaven, 
and  with  shame  and  sorrow  shall 
seek  to  him  to  retrieve  the  evils 
which  our  rashness  has  procured. 
Let  it  then  be  engraven  upon  the  tab- 
lets of  our  hearts,  that  no  proposed 
course  of  conduct  can  be  so  clear  to  a 
Christian  as  to  excuse  him  from  the 
duty  of  seeking  direction  from,  above^ 
15.  Joshua  made  peace  with  them, 
&c.  Agreed  to  receive  them  into 
a  friendly  connexion  with  the  Isra- 
elites, and  to  respect  their  lives  and 
property.  It  has  been  doubted  by 
sorae  whether  the  Israelites  were 
bound  by  an  oath  that  had  been  ob- 
tained from  them  by  means  of  a  gross 


106 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  145L 


with  them,  and  made  a  league 
with  them,  to  let  them  live  :  and 
the  princes  of  the  congregation 
sware  unto  them. 

16  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  at 
the  end  of  three  days  after  they 
had  made  a  league  with  them, 
that  they  heard  that  they  ivere 
their  neighbors,  and  that  they 
dwelt  among  them. 

17  And  the  children  of  Israel 
journeyed,  and  came  unto  their 

imposition.  But  it  is  plain  that  they 
thouglit  themselves  solemnly  bound 
by  it,  and  were  apprehensive  that 
the  wrath  of  God  would  fall  upon 
them  if  they  broke  it.  That  they  were 
right  in  this,  and  that  their  adherence 
to  their  oath  was  acceptable  to  God, 
is  to  be  inferred,  (1)  From  his  ex- 
pressing no  displeasure  at  the  time, 
and  from  the  subsequent  tenor  of  his 
dealings  towards  them,  which  was 
kind,  and  favorable,  not  implying  re- 
buke, nor  savoring  of  disapprobation. 
(2)  From  the  fact  that  he  long  afier- 
wards  severely  avenged  the  wrong 
done  by  Saul  to  the  Gibeonites  in 
violation  of  this  treaty.  Let  us  learn 
from  this  the  binding  nature  of  an 
oath.  It  lays  a  bond  upon  the  soul 
from  which  we  cannot  be  released. 
Even  when  an  oath  has  been  taken 
which  it  is  unlawful  to  keep,  still  we 
are  not  to  consider  that  it  is  a  light 
matter  to  dispense  with  it,  or  that  we 
stand  in  the  sight  of  God  just  where 
we  did  before  it  was  taken.  We 
have  in  fact  laid  upon  ourselves  a 
load  of  obligation  Avhich  he  only  can 
take  oif.  It  is  he  only  who,  in  view 
of  our  unfeigned  repentance  for  hav- 
ing taken  it,  can  relieve  the  con- 
science of  the  awful  burden  which 
rests  upon  it.    How  much  more  then 


cities  on  the  third  day.  Now 
their  cities  icere  I'Gibeon,  and 
Chephirah,  and  Beeroth,  and 
Kirjath-jearim. 

18  And  the  children  of  Israel 
smote  them  not,  ''because  the 
princes  of  the  congregation  had 
sworn  unto  them  by  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel.  And  all  the  con- 
gregation murmured  against  the 
princes. 

pch.  18.  25,  26,28.  Ezra 2.  25.  q  Eccles. 
5.  2.     Ps.  15.  4. 


ought  we  to  feel  the  force  of  those 
compacts  and  promises  w-hich  are 
wholly  lawful  and  right  !  How 
religiously  and  scrupulously  should 
every  promise  be  performed  ! 

16.  That  they  dv:elt  amofio-  them. 
Heb.  ID^pri  heldrho,  dwelt  in  his 
midst,  collect,  sing.,  the  very  thing 
which  Joshua  feared,  and  of  which 
he  hinted  his  suspicion,  v,  7.  '  They 
that  suffer  themselves  to  be  deceived 
by  the  wiles  of  Satan,  will  soon  be 
undeceived  to  their  confusion,  and 
will  find  that  to  be  near,  even  at  the 
door,  which  they  imagined  was  very 
far  off.'     Henry. 

17.  And  the  children  of  Israel  jour- 
neyed and  came  unto  their  cities,  &c. 
This  might  better  be  rendered,  '  For 
when  the  children  of  Israel  journey- 
ed, they  came  unto  their  cities.'  Ac- 
cording to  the  present  translation  they 
learnt  the  fraud  practised  upon  them 
some  days  before  they  arrived  at 
their  cities.  The  contrary  suppo- 
sition seems  the  most  probable,  and 
we  presume  the  17th  verse  is  in- 
tended to  inform  us  how  they  became 
possessed  of  the  information  men 
tioned  in  the  IGth. 

18.  The  congregation  murmured. 
Principally,  no  doubt,  because  they 
were  deprived  of  the  spoils  of  the 


B.  C.  UoLj 


CHAPTER  XL 


107 


19  But  ail  the  princes  said 
unlo  all  the  cougregation,  We 
have  sworn  unlo  them  by  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel :  now  there- 
fore we  may  not  touch  them. 

20  This  we  will  do  to  them  ; 
we  will  even  let  them  livcj  lest 

Gibeonites.  Though  they  did  sub- 
mit to  the  restraints  laid  upon  them 
by  this  league,  yet  it  was  with  an  ill 
grace  j  they  were  vexed  to  have  their 
hands  thus  tied  by  their  rulers,  and 
venied  their  disatiection  in  the  most 
unequivocal  manner.  Some  of  them, 
however,  might  have  honestly  re- 
sented what  they  deemed  a  flagrant 
breach  of  the  Divine  commandment. 
There  is  often,  nay  generally,  more 
conscience  and  principle  among  the 
common  class  of  the  people,  than 
among  those  placed  in  authority  over 
them,  although  this  remark  is  not  to 
be  construed  to  the  disparagement 
of  Joshua. 

19.  We  have  swoni  unto  them. 
Chal.  '  We  have  sworn  to  them  by 
the  Word  of  the  Lord.'  They  plead 
neither  the  lawfulness  nor  the  pru- 
dence of  the  oath,  but  only  its  obli- 
gation when  taken.  Although  they 
had  been  deceived  in  the  business, 
and  the  covenant  had  been  made  on 
a  supposiiion  which  Avas  afterwards 
proved  to  be  false,  yet  having  sv:orn 
by  Jehovah,  they  did  not  feel  at  li- 
berty to  break  their  compact.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  Joshua  might 
have  taken  advantage  of  their  own 
words  to  annul  the  treaty,  and  said 
to  them,  '  Ye  are  come,  according  to 
your  own  statement,  from  a  far 
country :  but  these  cities  are  near  at 
hand  ;  their  inhabitants  therefore  are 
not  the  people  with  whom  we  have 
covenanted,  and  ye  have  nothing  to  do 


■■  w  rath  be  upon  us,  because  of 
the  oath  which  we  sware  unto 
them. 

21  And  the  princes  said  unto 
them,  Let  them  live  ;  but  let 
them  be  'hewers  of  wood,  and 

r  See  2  Sam  21.  1,  2,  6.  Ezek.  17.  13,  1.5, 
18,19.    Zech.  5.  3,4.  Mai.  3.  5.  sDeut.vQ.  11- 

to  interfere  with  or  prevent  tl.eir  de- 
struction.' But  he  would  not  resort 
to  any  shifts  or  quibbles  to  elude  the 
oath.  Like  the  good  man  of  the 
Psalmist,  though  he  had  sworn  to 
his  own  hurl,  he  would  not  change. 
Having  made  a  solemn  compact,  he 
would  abide  by  it  at  all  events.  If 
he  had  now  broken  his  covenant  the 
whole  people  of  Canaan  would  have 
represented  him  a>  a  violator  of  his 
engagements ;  it  was  therefore  better 
to  fulfil  his  agreement,  however  hasty 
and  ill-advised,  than  by  departing 
from  it  to  give  occasion  to  the  ene- 
mies of  God  to  blaspheme.  His  an- 
swer takes  it  for  granted  that  the 
sentiments  of  the  people  accorded 
with  his  own  as  to  the  solemn  obli- 
gations now  resting  upon  them. — — 
TTMt/?/  not  touch  them.  May  not  hurt 
or  injure  them.  For  this  sense  of 
the  word  see  Gen.  26.  11 ;  Ruth  2.9; 
Job  1.  11;  Ps.  105.  15;  Zech.  2.  8. 
Chal.  '  May  not  give  them  damage.' 

U  We   icill   even    let    them   live. 

Chal.  '  We  will  make  them  to  sur- 
vive.' 

21.  And  the  princes  said  unto  them. 
Rather  'said  cow«rwf/;o- them,' as  the 
original   for   'unto'   often    signifies. 

See  on  Gen.  20. 2. ^Let  thcmbehew- 

ers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water.  Let 
them  be  taken  at  their  word  v.  8,  and 
made  public  servants,  to  be  employ- 
ed in  the  most  menial  offices  and 
drudgeries  which  the  service  of  the 
sanctuary  might  require.    The  ex 


108 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


drawers  of  water  unto  all  the 
congregation  ;  as  the  princes 
had  'promised  them. 

22  ir  And   Joshua  called    for 
them,  and  he  spake  unto  them, 

t  \er.  15. 

pression  is  proverbial  for  the  Ioav- 
est  and  most  servile  employments  of 
whatever  kind,  as  appears  from  Deut. 
29.  10,  11,  where  Moses  thus  reeites 
the  order  of  the  different  classes  of 
the  people,  '  Ye  stand  this  day  all  of 
you  before  the  Lord  your  God ;  your 
captains  of  your  tribes,  your  elders, 
and  your  officers,  with  all  the  men 
of  Israel,  your  little  ones,  your 
wives,  and  thy  stranger  that  is  in 
thy  camp,  from  the  hewer  of  thy  wood, 

unto  the  drawer  of  thy  water.' 

IF  Unto  oil  the  congregation.  To  all 
the  congregation  considered  as  one 
great  worshipping  body,  whose  reli- 
gious rites  were  concentrated  at  one 
place,  and  not  to  all  the  several  fami- 
lies in  their  private  capacity,  as  re- 
siding in  their  tents.  They  were  to 
be  made  public  and  not  private  ser- 
vants.  ^According  as  the  princes 

had  promised  them.  Rather,  Heb. 
'had  purposed,  ordained,  fixed  upon 
concerning  them ;'  that  is,  in  a  previ- 
ous consultation.  The  whole  verse, 
however,  as  it  stands  in  the  original, 
is  exceedingly  intricate,  and  com- 
mentators are  very  much  divided  as 
\o  its  true  construction.  It  would 
seem  from  the  next  verse  that  no- 
thing had  as  yet  been  said  directly 
to  the  Gibeonites. 

22.  IV/ierefore  have  ye  beguiled  us  ? 
The  mode  of  their  treatment  having 
been  previously  resolved  upon  m  a 
council  of  the  elders  or  princes  of 
the  nation,  Joshua  now  summons 
them  into  his  presence  and  acquaints 


saying,  Wherefore  have  ye  be- 
guiled us,  saying,  "We  are  very 
far  from  you  ;  when  ""  ye  dwel) 
among  us  ? 
23    Now    therefore     ye     art 

u  Vi  r.  6.  9.     X  vey.  16. 


them  with  the  result.  '  He  does  not 
load  them  with  ill  names,  does  not 
give  them  any  harsh- provoking  lan- 
guage, does  not  call  them,  as  they  de- 
served to  be  called,  base  liars,  but 
only  asks  them,  '■  Why  have  ye  be- 
guiled us  1"  Under  the  greatest  pro- 
vocations it  is  our  wisdom  and  duty 
to  keep  OOT  temper  and  to  bridle  our 
passion  ;  a  just  cause  needs  not  an- 
ger to  defend  it,  and  a  bad  one  is 
made  never  the  better  by  it.'  Henry. 
23.  Noio  therefore  ye  are  cursed. 
Ye  shall  be  subjected  to  a  severe  ca- 
lamity. Ye  shall  pay  a  bitter  pen- 
alty for  your  deception.  Ye  shall 
subject  yourselves  and  your  children 
to  the  curse  of  a  degrading  bondage, 
and  thereby  shall  the  ancient  denun- 
ciation against  your  ancestor  be  ful- 
filled ; — '  Cursed  be  Canaan,  a  ser- 
vant of  servants  shall  he  be.'  Had 
they  dealt  fairly  and  ingenuously 
with  Israel,  their  lives  would  no 
doubt  have  been  spared  on  more  fa- 
vorable and  honorable  terms.  As  it 
was,  however,  it  cannot  be  doubted 
that  their  punishment  was  overruled 
and  turned  to  a  signal  blessing  to 
them.  They  were  hereby  brought 
into  a  situation  where  they  would  na- 
turally acquire  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  and  of  his  revealed  will, 
were  made  to  dwell  in  the  courts  of 
the  Lord's  house,  were  honored  with 
near  access  to  him  in  the  services  of 
the  sanctuary, and  ihuspbced  incir- 
cumsLances  eminently  favorable  to 
their  spiritual  and  eternal  interests. 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER   IX. 


109 


^cursed,  and  there  shall  none  of 
you  be  freed  from  being  bond- 
men, and  Viewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  of  water  for  the  house 
of  my  God. 

24  And  they  answered  Joshua, 
and  said,  Because  it  w^as  cer- 
tainly told  thy  servants,  how 
that  the  Lord  thy  God  '^com- 

y  Gen.  9.  25.  z  rcr.  21.  27.  a  Exod.  23. 
32.     Deut.  7    1,  2 


If  David  could  say,  '  I  had  rather  be 
a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  my 
God,  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
wickedness,'  surely  these  poor  be- 
nighted heathen  rnay  well  have  es- 
teemed their  lot  a  blessing,  hard  and 
toilsome  and  humble  as  it  was.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  been  afterwards 
called  Nethinim,  i.  e.  persons  given, 
dedicated,  consecrated  to  the  service 
of  the  sanctuary  and  the  assistance 
of  the  Leviies.     See  v.  27  ;  1  Chron. 

9.  2. 'IT  There  shall  none  of  yon  be 

freed  from  being  bondmen.  Heb. 
inS'  ^'D72  rn:^^  i<^  lo  yikkareth  mik- 
kem  obed,  there  shall  not  be  cut  off 
from  you  a  servant ;  i.  e.  the  line  of 
servitude  shall  be  kept  up;  a  sen- 
tence by  which  the  bondage  imposed 
upon  them  shoulA  be  entailed  upon 
their  posterity.  Mr.  Harmer  under- 
takes to  show  from  Shaw  and  other 
travellers,  that  these  were  the  em- 
ployments of  females  in  the  East,  and 
that  consequently  the  bitterness  of 
their  doom  consisted  not  so  much  in 
being  subjected  to  a  laborious  ser- 
vice, as  in  being  degraded  from  the 
characteristic  employments  of  men 
to  those  of  women.  There  may  be 
some  force  in  this  remark  as  applied 
to  domesiic  civil  life,  but  here  the 
case  is  different ;  it  is  certain  that 
these  menial  services,  if  they  had  not 
10 


manded  his  servant  Moses  to 
give  you  all  the  land,  and  to  de- 
stroy all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  from  before  you,  therefore 
'"  we  were  sore  afraid  of  our  lives 
because  of  you,  and  have  done 
this  thing 

25  And  now,  behold,  we  are 
''in  thine  hand:  as  it  seemeth 

b  Exod.  15.  14.     c  Gen.  16.  6. 


been  performed  by  the  Gibeonites, 
would  have  devolved  upon  the  Isra- 
elites, and  that  too  upon  the  7)ien,  and 
not  the  vjovien  of  the  congregation, 
for  only  males  were  employed  about 

the  sanctuary. IF  For  the  house  of 

my  God.  Chal.  '  For  the  sanctuary 
of  my  God,'  spoken  primarily  of  the 
tabernacle,  which  was  at  that  time 
the  seat  of  worship,  but  with  an  ulte- 
rior reference  to  the  temple  which 
should  be  afterwards  erected, 

24.  And  they  ansioered,  &c.  The 
words  in  which  they  make  reply  are 
well  weighed.  It  is  a  delicate  and 
very  cogent  appeal  to  the  human- 
ity and  piety  of  Israel.  They  offer 
the  best  excuse  for  themselves  which 
their  conduct  would  admit.  They 
attempt  not  to  justify  their  prevarica- 
tion, but  in  effect  beg  pardon  for  it ; 
pleading  that  it  was  purely  to  save 
their  lives  that  they  had  recourse  to 
it.  No  one  who  feels  the  force  of 
the  law  of  self-preservation  but  must 
make  great  allowances  for  them,  es- 
pecially as  they  were  not  prompted 
by  the  fear  of  man,  but  of  God  him- 
self, whom  nothing  can  resist. 

25.  We  are  in  thine  hand.  Chal. 
'  We  are  delivered  into  thine  hand.' 
In  !hy  power,  at  thy  disposal,  riaving 
nothing  more  to  say  for  ourselves. 
'^  As  it  seemeth  good  and  right 


110 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


good  and  right  unto  thee  to  do 
unto  us,  do. 

26  And  so  did  he  unto  them, 
and  delivered  them  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
that  they  slew  them  not. 

27  And  Joshua  made  them 
that  day  ''hewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  of  water  for  the  con- 

d  ver.  21,  23 


^cnto  thee — do.  .Whatever  justice  and 
mercy  dictate  to  thee  to  do  unto  us, 
that  perform.  They  expect  justia; 
because  they  deceived  the  Israeliles ; 
yet  they  hope  for  'mercy  because  they 
were  driven  to  this  expedient  for  fear 
of  losing  their  lives.  This  willing 
submission  of  the  Gibeoni'es  may  be 
improved  by  us.  They  accounted  it 
no  great  matter  to  cede  their  cities, 
and  to  spend  their  days  in  servitude, 
seeing  God  had  spared  their  lives. 
And  shall  we  think  much  of  .sacri- 
ficing any  temporal  interests,  or  of 
performing  any  self-denying  duties, 
when  we  have  reason  to  think  that 
God  has  spared  the  life  of  our  souls  1 
If  we  look  for  mercy  at  the  hands 
of  Jesus,  all  that  we  have  and  are 
must  be  the  Lord's.  We  must  be 
willing  to  be  anything  and  do  any- 
thing that  he  appoints  for  us. 

26.  And  so  did  he  unto  them.  That 
is,  he  dealt  with  them  according  to 
justice  and  mercy ;  he  delivered 
them  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people, 
who  would  fain  have  slain  them,  and 
yet  he  doomed  them  to  servitude  as 
a  just  retribution  for  their  offence. 

26.  And  Joshua  made  them,  &c. 
Heb.  D^rr^  yittenam,  gave  them, 
whence  the  epithet  G"'3"^D3  nethinirn, 
given,'Lsi\.  dediti  or  <Zfo<Zait,  applied 
to  them  Ezra  2.  43,  58 ;  8.  20;  Neh. 
3. 26.    See  on  v.  21. IT  In  the  place 


gregation  and  for  the  altar  of  the 
Lord,  even  unto  this  day,  *in 
the  place  which  he  should 
choose. 

CHAPTER  X. 

NOW  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Adoni-zedek  king  of  Jeru- 
salem  had   heard   how   Joshua 

e  Deut.  12.  5. 


v:hich  he  should  choose.  That  is,  the 
place  which  he  should  choose  for  his 
sanctuar}^,  whether  it  were  the  taber- 
nacle or  temple  ;  for  here  were  their 
services  more  especially,  though  not 
exclusively,  to  be  bestowed.  They 
were  not  to  keep  possession  of  their 
cities,  for  we  afterwards  find  that 
three  of  them  fell  to  the  lot  of  Ben- 
jamin, and  one  to  that  of  Judah ; 
nor  were  they  to  be  at  their  own  dis- 
posal, but  were  most  of  them  proba- 
bly dispersed  through  the  cities  of 
the  priests  and  Levites,  and  came  up 
with  them  in  their  courses  to  serve  at 
the  altar,  out  of  the  revenues  of  which 
they  were  doubtless  maintained. 


CHAPTER  X. 
\.  Adoni-zedek.  This  name,  sig- 
nifying lord  of  'Qghteousness,  is  very 
nearly  akin  to  that  of  Melchizedek, 
king  of  righteousness,  who  reigned 
at  the  same  place  upwards  of  400 
years  before.  He  might  have  been 
a  descendant  as  well  as  successor  of 
this  distinguished  personage,  or  the 
name,  m  one  form  or  the  other,  may 
have  been  common,  like  Pharaoh  in 
Egypt,  or  Abimelech  in  Gerar,  to  the 
royal  line.  How  the  epithet  right- 
cons  came  to  be  connected  with  the 
title  of  the  kings  of  this  remarkable 
city  it  is  not  possible  now  to  deter- 
mine.    Viewed  in  connexion  with 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


Ill 


had  taken  Ai,  and  had  utterly 
destroyed  it ;  '^  as  he  had  done 
to  Jericho  and  her  king,  so  he 
had  done  to  ''Ai  and  her  king; 

a  ch.  6.  21.    b  ch.  8.  22,  26,  38. 


its  subsequent  history,  it  must  be  re- 
garded as  not  a  little  remarkable, 
though  from  the  case  of  this  individ- 
ual it  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
always  a  true  index  of  the  character 
of  him  who  bore  it. IT  King  of  Je- 
rusalem. The  name  Jerusalem  here 
occurs  for  the  first  time  in  the  scrip- 
tures. The  original  designation  of 
the  city  seems  to  have  been  Salem, 
Gen,  14.  18 ;  Ps.  76.  2,  as  it  was  called 
in  the  time  of  Melchizedek,  though 
whether  he  were  its  founder  is  alto- 
gether unceriam.  It  was  afterwards 
called  tii';):z;T|i  Yerushalayim,  Jeru- 
salem, a  name  supposed  to  be  com- 
pounded of  li^ni  yiru  (from  nj^"! 
raah,  to  see),  and  D^'iL'  shalavi,  peace, 
and  signifying  vision  of  peace,  or 
more  literally,  they  shall  see  peace,  in 
prophetic  allusion  to  the  gospel  of 
peace,  which  was  afterwards  to  issue 
from  thence.  Reland,  Schultens  and 
others,  it  is  true,  derive  it  from  ^£^^'^\^ 
yerusk  and  d^'J  shalam,  possessio^n  of 
peace,  but  we  prefer  the  former,  and 
are  not  unwilling  to  believe,  with 
Masius,  that  the  name  carries  in  it  a 
latent  reference  to  the  incident  men- 
tioned, and  the  words  employed  Gen, 
22.  14,  '  And  Abraham  called  the 
name  of  that  place  Jehovah-jireh :  as 
it  is  said  to  this  day,  In  the  mount  of 
the  Lord  it  shall  be  seen.'  The  He- 
brew nJ^T^  yireh  or  jireh,  seems  to  | 
have  been  affixed  to  the  ancient  de-  ' 
nomination  Salem,  and  thus  to  have 
formed  the  word  Jerusalem,  mysti-  ! 
cally  pointing  to  the  vision  of  peace  I 


and    'how   the   inhabitants    of 
Gibeon  had   made  peace  with 
Israel,  and  were  among  them ; 
2  That  they  ''feared  greatly, 

c  ch.  9.  15.    d  Exod.  15.  14,  15,  15.    DeUt. 
11.  25. 


which  Abraham  saw  in  the  future 
sacrifice  that  was  to  be  ofiered  up  in 
the  latter  day  on  that  same  memora- 
ble mount  or  in  its  immediate  vicini- 
ty. Moriah,  one  of  the  mountains 
of  Jerusalem,  signifying  vision  of 
God,  is  derived  from  the  same  root, 
and  was  probably  so  called  for  the 
same  reason.  After  coming  into  the 
possession  of  the  Jebusites,  it  was 
occasionally  called  Jebus,  Josh.  18. 
28;  Judg.  19.  10,  11,  from  the  inha- 
bitants, but  it  seems  nev^er  to  have 
been  familiarly  known  by  that  appel- 
lation among  the  Israelites.  It  is 
probable  that  the  city  retained  in  the 
main  the  name  of  Salem,  which  it 
had  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  till  the 
Israelites  came  into  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, and  that  it  was  called  Jerusa- 
lem by  them  when  they  first  look  pos- 
session of  it.  Consequently  it  is  so 
called  by  anticipation  in  this  place. 
It  was  doubtless  overruled  in  provi- 
dence that  a  name  should  be  bestow- 
ed on  the  place  pre-intimating  the 
nature  of  the  glorious  events  by  which 
it  was  afterwards  to  be  distinguished. 

If  Had  utterly  destroyed.      Heb. 

ri>3'^'n)T^    ya'harimah,   had    made    a 

curse,  had  devoted.' IT  Were  among 

them.  Had  made  alliance  with  them, 
had  come  over  to  their  interest,  had 
put  themselves  under  their  protec- 
tion, and  so  were  entitled  henceforth 
to  dwell  together  with  them  in  the 
country  without  being  exterminated 
or  disturbed. 
2,   That  they  feared  greatly.    He 


1\2 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


because  Gibeon  icas  a  great 
city,  as  one  of  the  royal  cities, 
and  because  it  was  greater  than 
Ai,and  ail  the  men  thereof  it-ere 
mighty. 

3  Wherefore  Adoni-zedek  king 
of  Jerusalem  sent  unto  Hohani 
king  of  Hebron,  and  unto  Piram 
kino;  of  Jarmuth,  and  unto  Ja- 


and  his  people ;  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that  under  the  term  '  king  '  in 
the  preceding  verse  we  are  to  under- 
stand also  the  people  whom  he  re- 
presented.  IT  .15  07ie  of  the  royal 

cities.  Heb.  n^pT^^^n  ^'^'$  tn^'D 
kea'hath  arai  hammamlakah,  as  one 
of  the  cities  of  the  kingdom.  Not  that 
it  was  actuall}'-  a  royal  city,  the  seat 
of  a  king,  but  it  was  like  one,  being 
a  capiial  city  and  having  others 
subordinate  to  it,  ch.  9.  7.  Chal. 
*  As  one  of  the  ciiiesof  the  kingdoms.' 
It  was  great,  well  inhabited,  and  well 
fortihed,  after  the  manner  of  tho-^e 
cities  which  served  for  royal  resi- 
dences. But  they  were  undoubtedly 
a  small  but  powerful  republic,  gov- 
erned by  elders,  as  we  hear  nothing 
here  or  elsewhere  of  their  having  a 
king.     See  on  ch.  9.  3. 

3,  Wherefore  Ado-iii-zcdek  sent. 
Because  he  was  most  exposed  to  dan- 
ger, Jerusalem  being  only  six  miles 
from  Gibeon,  and  midway  between 
that  and  the  camp  at  Gilgal,  and  be- 
cause also  he  might  have  possessed 
some  degree  of  precedency  over  the 
other  kings  mentioned. 

4.  That  we  may  smite  (xibeon 
That  is,  the  Gibeonites.  It  is  very 
conceivable  that  Adoni-zedek  and 
his  associates  may  have  been  glad  of 
a  plausible  pretext  for  auacl^ing  the 
Gibeonie-,  as  their  more  liberal  form 
of  government  was  a  standing  re- 


phia  king  of  Lachish,  and  unto 
Debir  king  of  Eglon,  saying, 

4  Come  up  unto  me,  and  help 
me,  that  we  may  smile  Gibeon  : 
^for  it  hath  made  peace  with 
Joshua  and  with  the  children  of 
Israel. 

5  Therefore  the  five  kinos  of 

o 
e  vcr.  1.     ch.  9.  15. 


buke  of  the  despotism  that  prevailed 
among  themselves.  BtU  their  avow- 
ed motive  undoubtedly  Avas  t(»  punish 
the  citizens  of  Gibeon  for  making 
peace  with  Joshua,  as  if  they  had 
thereby  acted  the  part  of  traitors  to 
the  country  and  greatly  strengthened 
the  common  enemy.  In  this  incident 
we  see  what  usually  takes  place  when 
any  of  the  enemies  of  Christ  submit 
themselves  to  him.  Their  former 
friends  and  companions  consider 
them  as  deserters  from  their  stand- 
ard, and  are  often  bitterly  exasperat- 
ed against  them.  '  He  that  departeth 
from  evil  maketh  himself  a  prey.' 
Or  if  their  opposition  does  not  amount 
to  actual  enmity,  it  will  at  least  show 
itself  in  a  way  of  contempt  and  ridi- 
cule. Satan  too  is  indignant  at  los- 
ing one  of  his  vassals  ;  and  not  only 
stimulates  his  subjects  to  commence 
hostilities  against  them,  but  labors  by 
all  possible  wiles  and  devices  to  bring 
them  back  again  to  their  former  bond- 
age. There  is  the  same  enmity  ex- 
isting against  the  cause  of  Christ  now 
as  ever.  Earth  and  hell  will  still 
combine  against  his  Church,  and 
every  one  that  enters  in:o  covenant 
with  him  will,  like  the  Gibeonites, 
have  a  powerful  confederacy  to  con- 
tend vvi.h. 

5.  The  Jive  kings  of  the  Amoiiles. 
The  name  of  this  people  is  often  ta- 
ken in  a  large  sense  for  that  of  the 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


113 


the  Amoiites,  the  king  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  king  of  Hebron,  the 
king  of  Jarmuth,  the  king  of 
Lachish,  the  king  of  Eglon, 
'^  gathered  themselves  together, 
and  went  up,  they  and  all  their 

i  ch.  9.  2. 


Canaaniles  generally,  or  any  one  of 
them,  doubtless  from  their  being  the 
EiOSL  powerful  of  the  distinct  tribes 
that  inhabited  the  country.  Strictly 
speaking,  the  people  of  Hebron  were 
Hitiites,  ch.  11.  19,  asid  those  of  Je- 
rusalem, Jebusites,  ch,  15.  63;  and 
in  one  place,  2  Sam.  21.  2,  the  Gibe- 
onites  themselves,  though  generally 
termed  Hivites,  are  said  to  be  '  of 
the  remnant  of  the  Amorites.'  The 
probability  is,  that  the  Amorites,  be- 
ing a  numerous  and  powerful  peo- 
ple in  the  Moabitish  territory,  sent 
out  colonies  to  these  several  places, 
which,  having  subdued  the  original 
inhabitants,  communicated  their  own 
n^me  very  extensiv'ely  over  the  coun- 
try.  IF  Made  war  against  it.     Put 

themselves  in  a  warlike  attitude, 
made  ready  for  an  assault,  were  on 
the  eve  of  attacking  them. 

6.  Sent  unto  Joshua.  They  trusted 
to  the  compassion,  the  nobleness,  the 
generosity,  if  not  the  justice  of  their 
new  ally.  They  doubled  not  that  he 
would  consider  himself  bound  in 
honor  and  conscience  to  succor  and 
defend  them,  although  it  may  not 
have  been  expressly  stipulated  for  in 
the  articles  of  the  treaty.  It  was 
because  of  their  confidence  in  Is- 
rael and  their  having  thrown  them- 
selves entirely  upon  their  protection 
that  they  were  nov\^  marked  out  as 
objects  of  the  vengeance  of  their  en- 
emies, and  to  whom  should  thev  go 
10* 


hosts,  and  encamped  before 
Gibeon,  and  made  war  against  it. 
6  IT  And  the  men  of  Gibeon 
sent  unto  Joshua  ^  to  the  camp 
to  Gilgal,  saying,  Slack  not  thy 
hand  from  thy  servants  j  come 
up  to  us  quickly,  and  save  us, 

«  ch.  5.  10,  and  9.  6. 


in  their  extremity  but  to  these  their 
natural  defenders'?  So  when  the 
powers  of  darkness,  like  mighty  Am- 
orites, assail  the  children  of  God,  to 
whom  shall  they  betake  themselves 
but  to  Christ,  their  true  Joshua'?  It 
is  when  we  are  encompassed  with 
evils  that  we  feel  the  value  of  that 
covenant  into  which  we  have  entered 
with  him.  If  we  attempt  to  resist 
our  eiicmies  in  our  own  strength,  we 
shall  infallibly  be  vanquished;  b«t 
if  we  betake  ourselves  to  the  Captain 
of  our  salvation  by  fervent  prayer, 

we  cannot  but   succeed. TI  Slack 

not  thy  hand  from  thy  servants.  Do 
not  leave  them  to  the  fate  which 
threatens  them,  put  forth  vigorous 
efforts  for  their  deliverance,  relax  not 
the  hold  which  thou  hast  by  cove- 
nant taken  of  them.  Happy  the  men 
of  Gibeon,  that  in  this  awful  mo- 
ment, this  very  crisis  of  their  fate, 
they  had  an  interest  in  Joshua  and 
the  armies  of  Israel !  Happy  every 
trembling  suppliant  at  the  throne  ot 
mercy,  if  he  be  interested  by  faith  in 
the  Almighty  Joshua,  who  hath  the 
armies  of  the  living  God  at  his  com- 
mand !  Could  a  heathen  say,  when 
a  bird  pursued  by  a  hawk  flew  into 
his  bosom,  '  I  will  not  surrender  thee 
to  thine  enemy,  as  thou  hast  come  to 
me  for  sanctuary'?'  Shall  not  the 
Saviour  then  be  an  unfailing  refuge 
to  those  who  fly  to  him  in  their  ex- 
tremity 1    See  on  ch.  1 .  5. IT  Thai 


114 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


and  help  us :  for  all  the  kings 
of  the  Amorites  that  dwell  in 
the  mountains  are  gathered  to- 
gether against  us. 

7  So  Joshua  ascended  from 
Gilgal,  he,  and  *' all  the  people 
of  war  with  him,  and  all  the 
mighty  men  of  valor. 

h  ch.  8.  1. 

dicell  in  the  raoimtains.  Heb.  inn 
"^lIEi  ydshebe  hdhdr,  dwellers  or  in- 
habitants of  the  mountain;  i.  e.  of 
the  mountainous  regions.  The  allu- 
sion is  to  the  tract  lying  to  the  south- 
west of  Jerusalem  called  '  the  hill 
country,'  Luke  1.  39,  65,  in  which 
were  situated  the  four  cities  men- 
tioned above,  v,  3. 

7.  And  all  the  mighty  men  of  valor. 
Rather,  '  even  all  the  mighty  men  of 
valor ;'  so  the  particle  translated 
'and'  is  used  in  hundreds  of  in- 
stances, and  it  is  not  easy  to  suppose 
that '  all  the  people  of  war,'  and  '  all 
the  mighty  men  of  valor,'  constituted 
two  separate  portions  of  the  host. 
The  meaning  is  simply  that  he  went 
•up  with  an  army  of  picked  men, 
men  of  approved  valor  and  tried 
skill,  to  defend  the  Gibeonites,  their 
new  allies,  against  their  invaders. 
A  sufficient  force  would  of  course 
be  left  to  guard  the  camp  at  Gilgal, 
Instead  of  taking  any  advantage  of 
the  mere  letter  of  their  compact,  and 
saying  that  they  never  promised  to 
run  the  hazard  of  their  own  lives  to 
save  theirs,  he  nobly  acts  on  its  spi- 
rit, and  resolves  that  they  shall  be 
no  losers  by  the  confidence  they 
have  reposed  in  him;  that  they  shall 
not  suffer  by  any  calamity  which  he 
can  avert.  '  To  a  good  mind  the 
strongest  obligation  is  another's  trust ; 
and  even  permission  in  those  things 


8  TT  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Joshua,  '  Fear  them  not :  for  I 
have  delivered  them  into  thine 
hand;  ''there  shall  not  a  man 
of  them  stand  before  thee. 

9  Joshua  therefore  came  unto 
them  suddenly,  and  went  up 
from  Gilgal  all  night. 

ich.  11.  6.    Judg.  4.  14.     kch.  1.  5. 


we  may  remedy,  makes  us  no  less 
actors,  than  consent.  We  are  guilty 
of  all  the  evil  we  might  have  hin- 
dered.'    Bp.  Hall. 

8.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua. 
More  correctly  '  for  the  Lord  had 
said ;'  as  we  cannot  suppose  that 
Joshua  undertook  this  expediiion  be- 
fore he  had  sought  counsel  of  God, 
and  received  the  encouragement  con- 
tained in  the  ensuing  words.  With- 
out some  such  encouragement  as 
this,  Joshua  might  have  thoughtthat 
this  formidable  host  was  sent  against 
him  and  his  new  allies  as  a  judg- 
ment upon  him  for  negotiating  an 
unlaw^ful  treaty.    The  verse  properly 

falls  into  a  parenthesis. IT  /  have 

delivered  them  into  thy  hand.  The 
usual  form  of  speech  to  express  the 
absolute  certainty  of  a  future  event. 

9.  Went  up  from  Gilgal  all  night. 
The  distance  from  Gilgal  to  Gibeon 
was  about  twenty-six  miles.  By  a 
forced  march  this  distance  might 
havebeen  accomplished  in  one  night ; 
but  the  words  do  not  necessarily  re- 
strict us  to  this  period  of  time.  They 
imply  only  that  he  trav^elled  all  night, 
lo  which,  if  we  please,  w-e  may  add, 
part  of  the  preceding  or  of  the  follow- 
ing day.  The  clause  quoted  reads 
somewhat  awkwardly  as  it  now 
stands,  from  its  seeming  to  put  the 
march  after  the  arrival.  By  omit- 
ting; the  word  '  and,'  which  does  not 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


115 


10  And  the  Lord  'discomfited 
them  before  Israel,  and  slew 
them  with  a  great  slaughter  at 
Gibeon,  and  chased  them  along 
the  way  that  goeth  up  '"to  Beth- 
horon,  and  smote  them  to  "  Aze- 
kah,  and  unto  Makkedah. 

1  Judg.  4.  15.  1  Sam.  7.  10, 12.  Ps.  18.  14. 
Isai.  28.  21.    m  ch.  16.  3,  5.^«  ch.  15  35. 


occur  in  the  original,  and  inclosing 
the  remainder  in  a  parenthesis  ('  he 
had  gone  up  from  Gilgal  all  night,') 
every  thing  is  made  plain.  Though 
he  had  received  the  positive  assur- 
ance of  a  victory,  yet  he  neglects 
no  prudent  means  of  effecting  it,  and 
therefore  adopting  a  military  strata- 
gem, comes  upon  them  by  surprise. 
*  God's  promises  are  not  intended  to 
slacken  or  supersede,  but  to  quicken 
and  encourage  our  own  endeavors.' 
Henry. 

10.  The  Lord  di&covifited  them. 
Or,  Heb.  C/CrT'  yehiiviviem,  struck 
with  dismay^  confounded.  It  is  the 
word  employed  Ex.  23.  27,  in  describ- 
ing the  effect  that  should  be  produced 
by  Divine  power  upon  the  enemies 
of  Israel,  though  there  rendered  less 
accurately  '  destroy.'     It  occurs  also 

Ps.  141.  G ;  2  Chron.  15.  6. '^And 

slew  them  with  a  great  slaughter.  Or, 
'  he  slew  them,'  i.  e.  Israel  slew  them. 
In  consequence  of  the  panic  into 
which  the  Lord  had  thrown  them, 
his  people  were  enabled  to  effect  a 
great  slaughter.  The  direct  work  of 
God  on   the  occasion  appears  to  be 

described,   v.    11. IT   At    Gibeon. 

Heb.  11 5^:33  begibOn,  in  Gibeon ;  not 
in  the  city,  but  in  the  adjoining  terri- 
tory or  do>"nain  called  by  the  same 
name,  as  Joshua  is  said,  ch.  5.  13,  to 
be  in  Jericho,  when  he  was  merely 
in  the  immediate  vicinity. ^Beth- 


1 1  And  it  came  to  pass  as  they 
fled  from  before  Israel,  cmrfwere 
in  the  going  down  to  Beth- 
horon,  "  that  the  Lord  cast  down 
great  stones  from  heaven  upon 
them    unto   Azekah,   and    they 


o  Ps.  18.  13,  14,  and  77.  17.     Isai.  30.  30. 
Rev.  16.  21. 


horon.  The  tribe  of  Ephraim  con- 
tained two  places  of  this  name,  the 
upper  and  lower.  The  latter  is  here 
probably  referred  to,  which  lay  tw^elve 
or  fifteen  miles  to  the  north-west  of 
Jerusalem,  and  where  Dr.  Clarke 
says  there  is  now  an  Arab  village 
called  Bethoor,  or  as  Prof.  Robinson 

writes  it  Beit  '  Ur. 'ii Azekah.     A 

city  of  Judah,  situated  about  twelve 
miles  west  from  Jerusalem.  Euse- 
bius  and  Jerome  inform  us  that  there 
was  a  town  in  their  time  about  this 
place  named  Ezeca,  which  was  pro- 
bably the  same  with  the  ancient  Aze- 
kah here  mentioned.  On  referring 
to  the  map  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
conquered  kings  fled  to  the  north- 
west of  Gibeon,  while  the  residue  of 
their  army  wheeled  off  more  south- 
erly,   flying    towards    Azekah. 

IF  Makkedah.  This  place  was  also 
in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  about  fourteen 
miles  southwest  of  Jerusalem. 

11.  The  Lord  cast  down  great  stones 
from  heaven  upon  them.  That  is, 
hail-stones  of  an  extraordinary  size, 
and  capable  of  doing  dreadful  exe- 
cution in  their  fall  from  heaven. 
Some  have  indeed  contended  that 
stones,  in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  word,  or  rather  meteoric  stones, 
are  intended,  ?nd  that  such  stones 
have  actually  fallen  from  the  clouds 
or  from  a  greater  height  is  an  incon- 
testible  fact.     But  there  is  no  good 


116 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


died  :  they  tcere  more  which  died 
Avith  hailstones  than  iheij  whom 

reason  to  suppose  that  any  such  phe- 
nomenon is  alluded  to  here,  for  it  is 
immediately  added,  as  if  to  preclude 
any  ground  of  mistake,  that  '  they 
were  more  Avhich  died  with  hailstones 
than  they  whom  the  children  of  Is- 
rael slew  with  the  sword.'  The 
Sept.  in  both  places  translates  it  by 
Xt^ot  x'^\a^ris,  hailstones;  Josephus 
calls  it  '  a  violent  tempest  of  hail- 
stones of  prodigious  size;'  and  the 
author  of  Ecclcsiasiicus,  ch.  46.  6, 
thus  speaks  of  the  event :  '  With  hail- 
stones of  mighty  power  he  made  the 
battle  to  fall  violently  upon  the  na- 
tions, and  in  the  descent  of  Beth-horon 
he  destroyed  them  that  resisted.'  That 
God  has",  on  other  occasions,  made 
use  of  hailstones  to  destroy  both  men 
and  cattle,  is  clear  from  the  instance 
of  the  plague  of  hail  in  Egypt,  Ex.  9. 
18,  and  in  the  predictions  of  Ezekiel 
against  Gog,  ch.  33.  22,  the  Most 
High  is  introduced  as  threatening 
that  '  he  would  plead  against  him 
with  pestilence,  and  with  blood,  with 
an  overflowing  rain,  and  great  hail- 
stones, fire  and  brimstone.'  God  him- 
self, moreover,  speaks  to  Job,  ch.  38. 
22,  23,  of  treasures  or  magazines  of 
snow  and  hail,  which  he  has  reserv- 
ed for  the  day  of  battle  and  war.  But 
although  we  have  no  doubt  that  a 
shower  of  hailstones  is  here  intend- 
ed, yet  we  are  equally  convinced 
that  this  shower,  though  natural  in 
itself,  was  super  naturally  employed 
on  this  occasion.  They  probably 
far  exceeded  the  usual  size,  and  it 
certainly  indicates  a  miraculous  in- 
terposition of  Providence  that  they 
should  have  fallen  at  the  very  crisis 
when  God  promised  to  assist  his  peo- 


the  children  of  Israel  slew  with 
the  sword 


pie  against  their  enemies,  and  that 
while  in  falling  they  slew  multitudes 
of  the  fugitive  Canaaniies,  they 
should  not  have  harmed  one  of  their 
pursuers  !  The  following  account 
of  a  similar  plienomenon  happening 
in  our  own  times  is  g'-aphically  de- 
scribed by  one  of  our  own  country- 
men, who  was  something  more  than 
an  eye-witness  of  its  elfects.  The 
letter  is  dated  Constantinople,  Aug., 
1831.  •  We  had  got  perhaps  a  mile 
and  a  half  on  our  way,  when  a 
cloud  rising  in  the  west,  gave  indi- 
cations of  an  approaching  rain.  In 
a  few  minutes  we  discovered  some- 
thing falling  from  the  heavens  with 
a  heavy  splash,  and  of  a  whitish  ap- 
j  pearance.  I  could  not  conceive  what 
I  it  was,  but  observing  some  gulls  near, 
I  I  supposed  it  to  be  them  darting  for 
I  fish  ;  but  soon  after  discovered  that 
they  were  large  balls  of  ice  falling. 
Immediately  Ave  heard  a  sound  like 
rumbling  thunder,  or  ten  thousand 
carriages  rolling  furiously  over  the 
pavement.  The  whole  Bosphorus 
was  in  a  foam,  as  though  heaven's 
artillery  had  been  discharged  upon 
us  and  our  frail  machine.  Our  fate 
seemed  inevitable ;  our  umbrellas 
were  raised  to  protect  us  ;  the  lumps 
of  ice  stripped  them  into  ribands. 
We  fortunately  had  a  bullock's  hide 
in  the  boat,  under  which  we  crawled 
and  saved  ourselves  from  farth.er  in- 
jury. One  man.  of  the  three  oars- 
men, had  his  hand  literally  .smashed  ; 
another  much  injured  in  the  shoul- 
der; Mr  H.  received  a  .severe  blow 
in  the  leg;  my  right  hand  was  some- 
what disabled,  and  all  more  or  less 
injured.     A  smaller  kaick  accom- 


B.  C.  1451.]  CHAPTER   X.  117 

12  ^  Then  spake  Josliua   to   the  Lord  in  the  day  when  the 


panied  with  my  two  servants.  They 
were  both  disabled,  and  are  now  in 
bed  with  their  wounds;  the  kaick 
was  terribly  brui:^ed.  It  was  the 
most  awful  and  terrific  scene  that  I 
ever  wiinessedj  and  God  forbid  that 
I  should  be  ever  exposed  to  such  an- 
other. Balls  of  ice  as  large  as  my 
two  fists  fell  into  the  boat,  and  some 
of  ihem  came  with  such  violence  as 
certainly  to  have  broken  an  arm  or 
leg  had  they  struck  us  in  those  parts. 
One  of  them  s'ruck  the  blade  of  an 
oar  and  split  it.  The  scene  lasted, 
perhaps,  five  minutes ;  but  it  was  five 
minutes  of  the  most  awful  feeling 
that  I  ever  experienced.  When  it 
passed  over,  we  found  the  surround- 
ing hills  covered  with  masses  of  ice, 
I  cannot  call  it  hail;  the  trees  strip- 
ped of  their  leaves  and  limbs,  and 
everything  looking  desolate.  We 
proceeded  on  our  course,  however, 
and  arrived  at  our  destination, 
drenched  and  awe-struck.  Up  to 
this  hour,  late  in  the  afternoon,  I 
have  not  recovered  my  composure ; 
my  nerves  are  so  affected  as  scarcely 
to  be  able  to  hold  my  pen,  or  commu- 
nicate my  ideas.  The  scene  was 
awful  beyond  all  description.  I  have 
watne.ssed  repeated  earthquakes ;  the 
lightning  has  played,  as  it  were, 
about  my  head  ;  the  wind  roared,  and 
the  waves  have  at  one  moment  thrown 
me  to  the  sky,  and  the  next  have  .sunk 
me  into  a  deep  abyss.  I  have  been 
in  action,  and  seen  deaih  and  de- 
struction around  me  in  every  shape 
of  horror ;  but  I  never  before  had  the 
feeling  of  awe  which  seized  upon  me 
on  this  occasion,  and  .still  haunts,  and 
I  feel  will  ever  hauni  me  I  return- 
ed to  the  beautiful  vi'Mrge  of  Buyuc- 


dere.  The  sun  was  out  in  all  its 
splendor,  at  a  distance  all  looked 
smiling  and  charming,  but  a  nearer 
approach  discovered  roofs  covered 
with  workmen  repairing  the  broken 
tiles,  desolated  vineyards,  and  shat- 
tered windows.  My  porter,  the  bold- 
est of  my  family,  who  had  ventured 
an  instant  from  the  door,  had  been 
knocked  down  by  a  hailstone,  and  had 
they  not  dragged  him  in  by  the  heels, 
would  have  been  battered  to  death. 
Of  a  flock  of  geese  in  front  of  our 
house,  six  were  killed^  and  the  rest 
dreadfully  mangled.  Tavo  boatmen 
were  killed  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
village,  and  I  have  heard  of  broken 
bones  in  abundance.  Many  of  the 
thick  brick  tiles,  with  which  my  roof 
is  covered,  are  smashed  to  atoms, 
and  my  house  Avas  inundated  by  the 
rain  that  succeeded  this  visitation.  It 
is  impossible  to  convey  an  idea  of 
what  it  was.  Imagine  to  yourself, 
however,  the  heavens  suddenly  froz- 
en over,  and  as  suddenly  brsken  to 
pieces  in  irregular  masses,  of  from 
half  a  pound  to  a  pound  weight,  and 
precipitated  to  the  earth.  My  own 
servants  weighed  several  pieces  of 
three-quarters  of  a  pound ;  and  many 
were  found  by  others  of  upwards  of 
a  pound.  There  were  many  which 
fell  around  the  boat  in  which  I  was, 
that  appeared  to  me  to  be  as  large  as 
the  swell  of  a  large-sized  water  de- 
canter. You  may  think  this  ro- 
mance. I  refer  to  the  bearer  of  this 
letter,  who  was  with  me,  and  wit- 
nessed the  scene,  for  the  truth  of 
every  word  it  contains.'  Com.  Por- 
tefs  Letters  from  Constantinople  and 
its  Environs,  Vol.  i.  p.  44. 
13.  Then  spoke  Joshua  to  the  Lord. 


118 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


Lord  delivered  up  the  Amorites 
before  the  children  of  Israel,  and 


That  is,  before,  in  the  presence  of, 
having  a  reference  to.  Chal.  '  Then 
declared  Joshua  before  the  Lord.' 
I'here  is  nothing  said  of  a  direct 
address  to  Jehovah,  though  we  can- 
not doubt  that  such  an  one  was  made 
on  the  occasion,  but  the  address  here 
mentioned  was  to  the  sun  and  moon. 
The  phraseology  in  the  original  is 
not  that  which  is  usually  employed 
to  intimate  a  direct  address  whether 
in  prayer  or  otherwise  from  one  per- 
son to  another.  Instead  of  mn"^  ^54 
to  Jehovah,  it  is  mrT^b  properly  im- 
porting before  Jehovah,  or  in  reference 
to  him.  It  is  a  similar  mode  of  ex- 
pression to  that  employed  by  Paul, 
1  Cor.  14.  2,  '  He  that  speaketh  in  an 
unknown  tongue  speaketh  not  unto 
men  but  unto  Godf  i.  e.  not  directly 
to  God,  but  50  that  God  understands 
him,  God  takes  cognizance  of  what 
he  says.  2  Cor.  5.  13,  '  For  whether 
we  be  beside  ourselves  it  is  to  God^ 
i.  e.  in  reference  to  God,  he  is  the 
ultimate  object  of  it.  So  here 
Joshua's  speaking  was  not  directly 
to  God,  but  there  was  a  unison  be- 
tween his  spirit  and  the  spirit  of  God 
in  his  speaking,  and  he  had  all  along 
a  hdiexing  reference  to  God.  See  on 
V.  14.  Seeing  the  day  far  spent, 
Joshua  feared  that  he  might  not  have 
time  to  complete  the  victory  which 
he  had  so  auspiciously  begun,  and 
being  suddenly  prompted  from  above, 
and  inspired  with  Divine  confidence, 
he  commanded,  in  the  name  of  Je- 
hovah, the  occurrence  of  a  stupen- 
dous miracle  in  order  to  prolong  the 
day  till  the  destruction  of  his  ene- 
mies  was  completely   effected. 


he  said  in  the  sight  of  Israel, 
PSun,    stand    thou    still 


p  Isai.  28.  21.    Hab.  3.  11. 


upon 


IT  He  said  in  the  sight  of  Israel,  Sun, 
stand  thou  still,  &c.  Or,  Heb.  '  he 
said,  In  the  sight  of  Israel,  Sun,  be 
thou  silent  in  Gibeon.'  1  he  verb  in 
the  original  '.GIT  dom^  generally  ren- 
dered cease,  rest,  be  still,  keep  silence, 
properly  implies  cessation  from  action 
or  noise,  rather  than  from  motion, 
and  is  perhaps  most  frequently  used 
metaphorically  to  signify  a  siknt, 
submissive  frame  of  spirit,  a  subdued, 
patient,  expectant  attitude  of  soul, 
like  that  of  the  Psalmist  when  he 
.says,  Ps.  62.  1,  using  this  very  word, 
'  Truly  my  soul  ivaiteth  upon  (Heb. 
tT'Tin  diimmiyah,  is  silent  to)  God.' 
See  also  Sam.  14.  9  ;  Ps.  4.  4  ;  37.  7} 
Is.  23.  2,  It  is  usually  spoken  of  an 
intelligent  agent,  and  as  the  import 
of  the  Heb.  word  for  sun,  is  servant, 
or  minister,  it  is  used  with  great  pro- 
priety here  as  expressive  of  the  com- 
mand of  a  master  to  a  servant  tc 
pause,  to  rest,  in  his  routine  of  ser- 
vice, and  to  assume  a  still,  quiet, 
patient  posture,  indicativ^e  of  the  most 
entire  subjection,  and  as  if  waiting 
for  further  orders.  Such  is  the  gen- 
uine force  of  the  original,  which 
cannot  perhaps  be  fully  expressed  in 
any  version. — The  phrase  'in  Gibe- 
on,'  means  in  this  connexion  over 
Gibeon,  implying  that  Joshua  looked 
off  to  a  distance  and  saw  the  sun 
apparently  standing  over  the  city  or 
cities  of  Gibeon. — As  to  the  nature 
of  the  miracle  itself,  on  which  much 
has  been  written,  it  may  be  remsrked, 
(1)  That  the  scriptures  generally 
speak  in  popular,  and  not  in  scientific 
language  ;  that  they  describe  the 
things  of  the  natural  world,  not  ac- 


B.  C.  1451.] 


Gibeon,  and  thou  Moon, 
valley  of  "^Ajalon. 

q  Judg.  12.  12. 


CHAPTER  X. 

in  the 


119 


cording  to  strict  philosophic  truth, 
but  according  to  appearance  and 
common  apprehension.  Thus  they 
speak  of  the  sun's  ruing  and  setting, 
of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  of  passing 
from  one  end  of  heaven  to  another, 
&c.  Indeed,  it  was  only  in  this  way 
that  Joshua  could  have  conveyed  any 
clear  idea  to  the  people  of  what  he 
intended  to  express  by  the  command. 
Had  he  uttered  the  words,  '  Earth, 
stand  thou  still  upon  thine  axis ;' 
they  would  have  thought  him  abso- 
lu:ely  distracted.  He  spake  there- 
fore in  the  common  popular  style 
adopted  by  philosophers  themselves 
in  ordinary  discourse,  and  every  one 
can  see  that  this  was  obviously  the 
proper  mode.  Nor  can  any  one  ob- 
ject to  this  diction  in  the  sacred 
writers  without  virtually  entering  his 
protest  against  the  every-day  lan- 
guage of  all  enlightened  countries  on 
the  earth.  Whether,  therefore,  the 
sun  or  the  globe  be  supposed  to  have 
been  arrested  in  its  career  on  this 
occasion,  is  immaterial  to  the  truth 
of  the  narrative,  as  the  appearance, 
in  each  case,  would  be  the  same,  and 
it  is  the  appearance,  and  not  the  re- 
ality, which  is  described.  (2)  Of  the 
precise  mode  in  which  the  miracle 
took  place,  two  solutions  may  be 
given,  though  it  must  necessarily 
ever  be  impossible  to  determine  posi- 
tively which  of  them  is  the  true  one. 
The  effect  maT/  have  been  owing  to 
the  actual  cessation  of  the  earth's  mo- 
tion round  its  axis.  This,  however, 
without  an  equally  miraculous  in- 
terference of  the  Almighty,  would 
have  produced  the  most  tremendous 


13 


And  the  sun  stood  still,  and 


the  moon  stayed,  until  the  peo- 


eifects,  not  only  upon  the  globe  itself 
but  perhaps  upon  the  entire  solar  sys- 
tem, and  the  equilibrium  of  the  whole 
material  universe.  But  the  more 
probable  explanation  in  our  opinion 
is,  that  the  phenomenon  related  was 
merely  optical;  that  the  rotatory 
motion  of  the  earth  was  not  disturb- 
ed ;  but  that  instead  of  this  the  light 
of  the  sun  and  moon  was  supernatu- 
rally  prolonged  by  the  operation  of 
the  same  laws  of  refraction  and  re- 
flection that  ordinarily  cause  the  sun 
to  appear  above  the  horizon  when  he 
is  in  reality  beloio  it.  He  who  creat- 
ed the  heavenly  luminaries,  and  es- 
tablished the  laws  which  regulate 
the  transmission  of  light,  may  at  this 
time  have  so  influenced  the  medium 
through  which  the  sun's  rays  passed, 
as  to  render  his  disk  still  visible  long 
after  the  time  when  in  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances it  would  have  disappear- 
ed. This  would  of  course  have  had 
all  the  visible  effect  of  actually  bring- 
ing the  earth  to  a  pause  in  its  revo- 
lution round  its  axis,  and  as  this  an- 
swers all  the  demands  of  the  text,  we 
are  not  solicitous  to  seek  any  more 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty. 

IT  Thou  moon  in  the  valley  of  Aja- 

lon.  That  is,  over  the  valley  of  Aja- 
lon.  A  city  of  Benjamin  in  the  near 
neighborhood  of  Gibeon,  so  near,  in 
fact,  that  what  is  here  termed  the 
valley  of  Ajalon,  seems,  in  Is.  28.  24, 
in  allusion  to  this  event,  to  be  called 
the  valley  of  Gibeon.  Junius  and 
Tremellius,  for  the  most  part  ex- 
tremely judicious  commentator^,  un- 
derstand the  import  of  the  command 
to  be,  that  the  sun  should  stay  itself 


120 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


pie  had  avenged  themselves 
upon  their  enemies.  ^ Is  not 
this   written   in    the    book    of 

r  2  Sam.  1.  18. 


from  setting  over  Gibeon,  and  the 
moon  from  rising  or  advancing  over 
Ajalon,  because  the  appearance  of  j 
the  moon  is  the  signal  for  the  coming  J 
on  of  night,  which  Joshua  would  now 
have  to  be  delayed.  Certain  it  is, 
that  the  light  of  the  moon,  even  when 
seen,  is  of  very  little  service  while 
the  sun  is  above  the  horizon,  and  as 
we  suppose  the  sun  itself  to  have 
been  at  this  time  near  the  horizon, 
we  take  this  command  to  the  moon 
to  be  introduced  merely  as  a  poetic 
ornament  to  make  out  the  parallel- 
ism so  common  to  the  poetical  style 
of  the  Hebrews.  It  is  in  fapt  doubt- 
ful whether  the  whole  passage  be  not 
a  quotation  from  the  book  of  Jasher 
mentioned  below,  and  whether  that 
book  were  not  a  collection  of  nation- 
al songs  or  lyric  poems  composed  in 
praise  of  Joshua  and  other  distin- 
guished heroes  and  champions  of 
Israel. 

13.  Written  in  the  book  of  Jashcr. 
Or.  Heb.  TiJ'Ti  ^iTD  siipher  hayashar, 
the  book  of  the  upright;  i.  e.,  per- 
haps, of  eminently  good  and  upright 
men,  men  distinguished  at  once  for 
moral  worth  and  military  prowess. 
As  this  book  is  generally  supposed 
to  have  long  since  perished,  though 
affirmed  by  some  of  the  Jews  to  be 
still  in  existence,  it  is  impossible  to 
determine  with  certainty  what  it  was. 
Mention  of  it  occurs  again  2  Sam. 
1. 18,where  David's  lamentation  over 
Saul  is  said  to  be  extracted  from  it. 
It  was  probably  a  collection  of  po- 
ems, or  national  ballads,  celebrating 
the  chief  events  of  the  wars  of  Israel 


Jasher  ?  So  the  sun  stood  still 
in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and 
hasted  not  to  go  down  about  a 
whole  day. 

and  the  praises  of  their  most  distin- 
guished heroes. If  In  the  midst  of 

heaven.  Heb.  D^?3"i:n  ^1112.  bahatzi 
hashshaniayim,  in  the  division,  or  tfu 
half  of  the  heavens ;  i.  e.  above  the 
horizon,  where  the  upper  is  divided 
from  the  lower  hemisphere  of  hea- 
ven. Some  have  supposed  it  to  mean 
the  same  as  'in  the  meridian  of  hea- 
ven,' but  at  that  hour  of  the  day  how 
could  the  moon  be  visible,  or  how 
did  Joshua  know  but  he  should  have 
ample  time,  before  sun.set,  to  com- 
plete the  victory  1  The  other  view 
is,  therefore,  we  think,  to  be  prefer- 
red.  '^Hasted  not  to  go  doicn  about 

a  ichole  day.  Heb.  '  hasted  not  to  go 
down  d*^/3n  QT'!3  key  dm,  taniim,  as  at 
the  perfect  day ;  i.  e.  as  it  naturally 
does  when  the  day  is  finished,  when 
the  ordinary  space  of  a  day  has 
elapsed.  This  we  conceive  to  be  the 
true  force  of  the  original,  though 
aware  that  it  requires  one  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  Hebrew  in  order 
to  feel  the  force  of  the  evidence  in 
favor  of  such  a  rendering.  Such  an 
one,  however,  upon  turning  to  the 
original  of  Ex.  31.  18;  Deut.  16.  6; 
^.  13 ;  Ps.  73.  19,  will  find,  if  we 
mistake  not,  ample  proof  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  interpretation.  The 
meaning,  as  we  understand  it,  is  not 
that  the  day  was  miraculously  length- 
ened out  to  the  exten,rof  twelve  hours, 
or  another  whole  day,  but  simply 
that  when  the  ordinary  duration  of  a 
day  was  completed,  the  sun  still  de- 
layed his  setting,  but  for  how  long 
a  time  we  are  not  informed:  long 
enough,  however,  we  may  presume, 


B.  C.  1451.1 


CHAPTER  X 


121 


14  And  there  was  '  no  day  like 
that  before  it  or  after  it,  that  the 
Lord  hearkened  unto  the  voice 
of  a  man  :  for  '  the  Lord  fought 
for  Israel. 


for  fully  accomplishing  the  object 
for  which  the  miracle  was  granted. 
•  14.    That  the  Lord  hearkened  unto 
the  voice,  of  a  man.     Chal.  '  That  the 
prayer  of  man  should  be  heard  be- 
fore the  Lord.'    That  is,  for  such  a 
purpose.    Not  that  this  was  the  first 
time  that  the  prayers  of  a  mortal  had 
power  with  God,  for  those  of  Moses 
had  ofien  prev^ailed  with  him,  but  he 
had  never  before  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  man  to  alter  so  signally  the 
course  of  nature,  or  to  grant  such  an 
illustrious   display  of  his  power  in 
behalf  of  his  people.     At  the  voice 
of  a  man,  the  sun  that  rules  the  day 
was  stopped,  as  he  descended,  and 
the  moon  that  governs  the  night,  as 
she  arose  in  the  east.     These  eyes  of 
the  lower  world,  which  were  proba- 
bly  the   gods   whom   the   Amorites 
worshipped,  were  compelled,  as  it 
were,  to  stand  still  and  look  down 
upon  their  mistaken  idolaters,  who 
might  cry  to  them  for  life  and  deli- 
verance.    The  passage  imports  that 
the  command  of  Joshua  was  in  effect, 
though  not  in  form,  a  prayer  to  Je- 
hovah  for  the   performance   of  the 
miracle.     In  like  manner  that  which 
seems  to  have  been  uttered  by  Elijah, 
1  Kings  17.  1,  as  a  prophecy^  is  spo- 
ken of   by  James,   ch.  5.    17,  as  a 
prayer.     Probably  no  miracles  Avere 
wrought  by  the  ancient  prophets  or 
servants  of   God  but  in  connexion 
with  the  most  fervent  -in-wrought" 
prayer.     It  is  only  by  earnest  prayer 
that  we  lake  hold  of  the  strength  of 
God.-- — IT  For  the  Lord  fought  for 
11 


15  ?[  "And  Joshua  returned, 
and  all  Israel  with  him,  unto  the 
camp  to  Gilgal. 

s  See  Isai.  38.  8.  t  Deut.  1.  30.  ver.  42. 
and  ch.  23.  3.    u  ver.  43. 


Isruel.  Chal.  '  For  the  Lord  fought 
by  his  Word.'  This  seems  to  be 
added  as  if  in  answer  to  the  natural 
inquiry,  '  Why  was  such  a  miracle 
wrought  on  this  occasion  1  To  what 
was  it  owing  that  Israel  was  so  fa- 
vored 1'  Because,  says  the  writer, 
the  Lord  fought  for  them.  He  was 
engaged  on  their  side  ;  and  it  was  in 
consequence  of  his  purpose  and  his 
promise  to  befriend  them,  v.  8,  12,  that 
he  graciously  heard  the  prayer  of 
Joshua. 

15.  And  Joshua  returned  to  GilgaL 
The  occurrence  of  this  verse  in  this 
place  has  occasioned  great  perplex- 
ity to  commentators.  As  it  is  verba- 
tim the  same  as  the  last  v^erse  of  this 
chapter,  and  is  wanting  in  some  of 
the  ancient  versions,  many  have 
thought  that  it  was  inserted  here  by 
the  error  of  some  transcriber,  and 
that  the  only  way  to  obtain  a  correct 
view  of  the  thread  of  the  narrative  is 
to  neglect  it  altogether.  It  cannot, 
it  is  said,  be  supposed  that  Joshua 
should  have  broken  off  in  the  mid-ca- 
reer of  his  victory,  and  ju.st  after  the 
above-mentioned  miracle  marched 
his  army  twenty  or  thirty  miles  to 
Gilgal,  and  then  have  immediately 
returned  again  to  the  scene  of  action 
to  complete  the  work  of  conquest. 
What  could  be  the  object  of  such  a 
strange  diversion  of  his  forces  at 
such  a  crisis  ?  But  we  are  inclined 
to  consider  it  as  inserted  here  mere- 
ly by  anticipation.  The  writer's 
drift  is  apparently  to  close  the  gene- 
ral  account  of  the  engagement  de- 


120 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1452 


16  But  these  five  kings  fled, 
and  hid  themselves  in  a  cave  at 
Makkedah. 

17  And  it  was  told  Joshua, 
saying,  The  five  kings  are  found 
hid  in  a  cave  at  Makkedah, 

18  And  Joshua  said,  Roll 
great  stones  upon  the  mouth  of 

scribed  above  by  saying  thai  when  it 
was  ended  Joshua  and  the  Israelites 
returned  to  the  camp ;  not,  however, 
that  this  took  place  immediately; 
there  were  some  additional  incidents 
that  occurred  prior  to  that  return, 
which  are  too  important  to  be  over- 
looked in  the  history,  and  which  he 
here  takes  occasion  to  relate.  This 
he  does  in  the  ensuing  verses,  IG- 
42,  after  which  he  inserts  again,  in 
its  proper  place,  the  account  of 
Joshua's  return  to  the  camp.  The 
repetition  of  the  words  at  the  end  of 
the  chapter  seems  designed  to  cor- 
rect the  misapprehension  that  might 
arise,  on  reading  them  in  their  first 
connexion,  as  to  the  precise  time  to 
which  they  refer.  This  we  regard 
as  a  safer  solution  of  the  difficulty 
than  to  suppose  an  error  in  the  copy- 
ist, which  in  this  instance  seems  to 
as  improbable.  It  is  not,  however, 
to  be  disguised,  that  the  entire  con- 
text, V,  11-15,  has  very  much  the 
air  of  a  supplementary  insertion,  as 
it  evidently  breaks  the  continuity  of 
the  narrative,  which  requires  v.  16 
to  come  in  immediate  connexion 
•with  V,  11,  and  is  marked  by  a  higher 
and  somewhat  poetical  style  of  ex- 
pression. If  such  a  conjecture  may 
be  admitted,  it  will  perhaps  account 
for  the  occurrence  of  v.  15  in  this 
connexion.  The  author  may  have 
seen  fit  to  append  to  his  inserted  mat- 
ter an  intimation  of  what  Joshua  did 


the  cave,  and  set  men  by  it  for 
to  keep  them : 

19  And  stay  ye  not,  hut  pur- 
sue after  your  enemies,  ai.d 
smite  the  hindmost  of  them ; 
suffer  them  not  to  enter  into 
their  cities  :  for  the  Lord  your 


after  the  miracle,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose have  taken  the  15th  v.  from  ths 
ensuing  narrative. 

16.  In  a,  cave  at  Makkedah.  Heb. 
n")p?2D  bemakkeddh,  in  Makkedah ; 
that  is,  in  the  vicinity  of  Makkedah, 
in  the  region  adjoining  the  city,  not 
in  the  city  itself.  See  what  is  said 
above  of  the  phrase  'in  Jericho,'  ch. 
5.  13,  and  'in  Gibeon,'  ch.  10.  10. 
Compare  too  with  this  what  is  said 
Am.  9.  2-4,  of  the  vain  attempts  of 
God's  enemies  to  conceal  themselves 
from  his  presence. 

18.  Set  men  by  it.  Heb.  Il^pcn 
U"''>L*3!!4  iT^iy  haphkidu  aleha  ana- 
shim,  give  men  charge  over  it. 

19.  Smite  the  hindmost  of  them. 
Heb.  QrGIT  zinnabtcm,  cut  off  the 
tail,  as  the  rear-guard  of  an  army  is 
called.  The  Vulg.  of  Jerome  ren- 
ders it,  '  cut  oflf  the  last  of  the  fugi- 
tives.' Arab.,  '  Clip  off  their  hind- 
most.' The  original  term  occurs 
only  once  elsewhere,  Deut.  25.  18. 
'  Servants,  dependants,  or  courtiers, 
in  the  East,  always /oZ/oto  their  supe- 
riors. Should  one  of  them  cease  to 
serve  or  follow  his  master  or  patron, 
having  gained  his  end,  another  on 
seeing  this,  asks,  "  Where  is  your 
tail  1" — "  The  tail  has  been  long  in 
my  way,  I  have  cut  it  off."  '   Roberts. 

IT  Suffer  them  not  to  enter  into 

their  cities.  Heb.  '  Give  them  not  to 
come  to  their  cities.'  Where  they 
w-ould  recover  strength  and  renew 


B.  C.  1451, 


CHAPTER  X. 


123 


God  hath  delivered  them  into  I  rest  ivhich  remained  of  them  en- 
your  hand.  tered  into  fenced  cities. 

20  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  I  21  And  all  the  people  returned 
Joshua  and  the  children  of  Israel  to  the  camp  to  Joshua  at  Mak- 
had  made  an  end  of  slaying  them  kedah  in  peace  :  ""  none  moved 
with  a  very  great  slaughter,  till  his  tongue  against  any  of  the 
they  were  consumed,  that  the   children  of  Israel. 

X  Exod.  11.  7. 


the  war.  It  seems,  however,  from 
the  next  verse,  that  a  fevv  stragglers 
succeeded  in  getting  refuge  in  these 
delenced  cities,  but  they  were  soon 
followed  thither  and  destroyed. 

20.  W/ie?i  Joshua  and  the  children 
of  Israel.  &c.  That  is,  Joshua  i^?/  the 
children  of  Israel,  by  their  agency. 
It  is  evident  from  v.  21  that  Joshua 
did  not  accompany  them  in  person, 
but  awaited  their  return  at  Ma k ke- 
dah. It  is,  however,  entirely  accord- 
ing to  scripture  analogy  to  speak  of 
that  as  done  by  a  commander,  which 
was  done  by  the  soldiers  under  his 
authority  and  control.  The  phrase 
may  also  be  rendered,  '  Joshua,  even 
the  children  of  Israel.' 

21.  All  the  people  returned  to  the 
camp  at  Maklicdah.  That  is,  the 
whole  detachment  which  Joshua  had 
sent  out  to  sc»ur  the  country  and  cut 
off  the  remaining  straggling  Canaan- 
ites.  Probr.b!}^  a  temporary  encamp- 
ment had  been  formed  here  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  army  after  the 
victory,  in  consequence  of  the  kings 
being  imprisoned  in  a  cave  near  it. 

IT //I  peace.    Safe  and  sound.    See 

Gen.  28.  21 ;  Judg.  8.  9.  Vulg.  '  Un- 
hurt and  in  the  same  number.' 

^None  moved  his  tongue.  That  is, 
none  of  the  Canaanites ;  or,  as  the 
verb  has  no  nominative,  we  may  un- 
aerstand  'dog,'  from  Ex.  11.  7;  im- 
plying that  their  victory  was  so  com- 
plete, that  not  even  a  dog  dared  to 


bark    against  them.      Comp.  Judith 
11.   13.      They   were    struck    dumb 
j  with    astonishment ;    they    were   so 
I  utterly  confounded  by  the  display  of 
I  supernatural  power  put  forth  in  be- 
I  half  of  Israel,  that  they  presumed  not 
!  to  breathe  a  whisper  of  insult  or  re- 
I  proach.     As  the  Israelites  marched 
in  triumph  through  their  towns  and 
villages,  so  far  from  venturing  to  lift 
a  Land  against  them,  they  did  not  even 
open   their  lips.     It  is  a  proverbial 
I  expression,  inlimating  a  freedom  from 
I  any  kind  of  insult  or   molestation. 
j  '  When  a  person  speaks  of  the  fear 
I  to  which  his  enemy  is  reduced,  he 
I  says,  "  Ah  !  he  dares  not  now  to  shake 
his  tongue  against  me."     "  He  hurt 
you  !  the  fellow  will  not  shake  his 
tongue  against  you."  '    Roberts.    See 
a  similar  mode  of  speech  Ex.  11.  7. 
The  Chal.  renders  it,  '  There  was  no 
hurt  or  loss  to  Israel,  for  which  any 
man  should  afflict  his  soul.'  Whether 
or  no  this  be  the  sense  of  the  words, 
such  w^as  no  doubt  the  fact.     When 
the  army  came  to  be  reviewed  after 
the  battle,  there  was  none  slain,  non« 
wounded  none  missing,  not  one  Isra- 
elite had  occasion  to  lament  the  loss 
of  a  friend  or  the  loss  of  a  limb. 
The  original  is  very  express  \hSi\.not 
one  single  Israelite  was  harmed  either 
by  word  or  weapon.     So  complete, 
so  superhuman,  so  glorious  was  the 
victory.     Such  a  consummation  fitly 
shadows  forth  the  glorious  end  of  that 


IM 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


22  Then  said  Joshua,  Open 
the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and 
bring  out  those  five  kings  unto 
me  out  of  the  cave. 

23  And  they  did  so,  and 
brought  forth  those  five  kings 
unto  him  out  of  the  cave,  the 
king  of  Jerusalem,  the  king  of 
Hebron,  the  king  of  Jarmuth, 
the  king  of  Lachish,  and  the 
king  of  Eglon. 

24  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 

warfare  in  which,  as  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ,  we  profess  to  be  engaged. 
When  the  last  enemy  shall  be  de- 
stroyed, the  last  alarm  hushed,  the 
last  victory  gained,  and  all  the  ran- 
somed of  the  Most  High  shall  come 
to  the  camp  of  their  Almighty  Leader, 
in  final  peace  and  rest,  all  the  envy, 
the  opposition,  the  hatred,  the  malice 
that  was  cherished  against  the  Sa- 
viour and  the  saints,  will  have  be- 
come extinguished  for  ever.  '  The 
ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return, 
and  come  to  Zion  with  songs,  and 
everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads ; 
and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away.' 

22.  Then  said  Joshua,  Open  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  &c.  Rosenmiiller, 
after  Usher,  suggests  that  this  was 
probably  done  the  next  day  after  the 
defeat  of  the  confederated  kings;  but 
although  it  is  clear  that  a  vast 
amount  of  action  was  compressed 
into  the  space  of  a  single  day,  3'-et  we 
are  not  to  forget  that  the  day  was  mira- 
culously lengthened  by  the  special  in- 
terposition of  the  Most  High. 

24.  All  the  men  of  Israel.  Heb. 
^H*":;''  w'^i^  ^~  Icol  ish  Yisrael,  all  the 
man,  or  manhood  of  Israel,  i.  e.  all 
the  men  of  war,  the  flower  and  prime 


they  brought  out  those  kings 
unto  Joshua,  that  Joshua  called 
for  all  the  men  of  Israel,  and 
said  unto  the  captains  of  the 
men  of  war  which  went  with 
him,  Come  near,  ^  put  your  feet 
upon  the  necks  of  these  kings. 
And  they  came  near,  and  put 
their  feet  upon  the  necks  of 
theni. 
25  And  Joshua  said  unto  them, 

y  Ps.  107.  40,  and  110.  5,  and  149.  8,  9 
Isai.  26.  5,  6.    Mai.  4.  3. 


of  the  army  by  whom  the  recent  vic- 
tory had  been  obtained.  We  have 
already  remarked,  in  the  notes  on 
ch.  9.  6,  that  the  term  '  men '  is  often 
used  in  a  peculiarly  emphatic  sense, 
to  denote  the  chief  men,  or  the  princes 
of  the  congregation.  A  passage 
strikingly  confirmative  of  this  usage 
occurs  Deut.  29.  10,  '  Ye  stand  this 
day  all  of  you  before  the  Lord  your 
God ;  your  captains  of  your  tribes, 
your  elders  and  your  ofiicers,  {u-ith) 
all  the  men  of  Israel.'  Here  the 
'with,'  as  indicated  by  the  Italics,  is 
not  found  in  the  original,  and  the 
sense  undoubtedly  is,  '  eveji  all  the 
men  of  Israel,'  making  the  clause  to 
stand  simply  in  opposition  with  what 

goes  before. ^  Put  your  feet  upon 

the  necks  of  these  kings.  Not  as  a 
personal  insult  to  the  kings,  but  sym- 
bolically, in  token  not  only  of  the  pre- 
sent complete  victory,  but  of  the  ab- 
solute subjection  to  which  all  their 
adversaries  would  finally  be  reduced, 
as  Joshua  himself  explains  it  in  the 
next  verse.  '  This  in  the  East  is  a 
favorite  way  of  triumphing  over  a 
fallen  foe.  When  people  are  disput- 
ing, should  one  be  a  little  pressed, 
and  the  other  begin  to  triumph,  the 
former  will  say,  "  I  will  tread  upon 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


125 


'Fear  not,  nor  be  dismayed,  be 
strong  and  of  good  courage  :  for 
"thus  shall  the  Lord  do  to  all 
your  enemies  against  whom  ye 
tight. 

26  And  afterwards  Joshua 
smote  them,  and  slew  them,  and 
hanged  them  on  five  trees  :  and 
they  ''were  hanging  upon  the 
trees  until  the  evening. 

27  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the 

z  Deut.  31.  6,  8.  cti.  1.  9.  a  Deut.  3.  21, 
and  7.  19.     t,  ch.  8.  29. 


thy  neck,  and  after  that  beat  thee." 
A  low  caste  man  insulting  one  who 
is  high,  is  sure  to  hear  some  one  say 
to  the  offended  individual,  '•  Put  your 
feel  on  his  neck."  '  Roberts.  In  like 
manner,  we  are  also  taught  to  regard 
our  victories  past  as  pledges  of  fu- 
ture and  greater  conquests. — The 
severity  enjoined  towards  the  van- 
quished kings,  though  abhorrent  to 
our  humane  feelings,  was  right,  be- 
cau.se  it  was  commanded,  Deut.  20. 
16,  17,  and  it  was  important  that  in 
doing  the  Lord's  work  the  Israelites 
.should  be  taught  the  lesson  elsewhere 
inculcated  by  the  prophet,  Jer.  4.  8  ; 
'  Cursed  be  he  that  doeth  the  Lord's 
work  deceitfully,  and  cursed  be  he 
that  keepeth  back  his  sword  from 
blood.'  The  act  here  mentioned  was 
in  fulfilment  of  the  prediction,  Deut. 
33.  29,  '  Thou  shalt  tread  upon  their 
high  places,'  on  which  see  Note. 

26.  Hanged  thevi  on  five  trees,  &.c. 
Chal.  '  On  five  crosses.'  See  on  ch. 
8.29. 

27.  At  the  time  of  the  going  down 
of  the  sun.  "Whether  this  was  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  so  miraculously 
lengthened  out,  or  of  the  following, 
has  been  doubted  by  commentators. 
But  if  the  fact  of  the  preternatural 

11* 


time  of  the  going  down  of  the 
sun,  that  Joshua  commanded, 
and  they  "^took  them  down  ofi' 
the  trees,  and  cast  them  into  the 
cave  wherein  they  had  been  hid, 
and  laid  great  stones  in  the 
cave's  mouth,  ichich  remain  un- 
til this  very  day. 
28  IT  And  that  day  Joshua  took 
Makkedah,  and  smote  it  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  the 

c  Deut.  21.  23.    ch.  8.  29. 


extension  •  of  the  day  be  admitted, 
we   can   see    no    objection    to    this 

view. IT  Cast  them  into  the  cave. 

'  That  which  they  thought  would 
have  been  their  shelter,  was  made 
their  prison  first,  and  then  their  grave. 
So  shall  we  be  disappointed  in  that 
which  we  flee  to  from  God ;  yet  to 
good  people  the  grave  is  still  "  a  hid- 
ing-place," Job   14.  3.'    Henry. 

Laid  great  stones  in  the  cavers  mouth. 
Mainly,  we  presume,  for  the  same 
reason  that  a  similar  monument  was 
raised  over  the  place  where  Achan 
was  stoned  and  burnt,  ch.  7.  26,  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  event 
in  connexion  with  the  disgrace  and 
ignominy  of  the  culprits  who  suffer- 
ed there.  Masius  remarks,  without 
specifying  his  authority,  that  '  those 
who  have  visited  this  region  say,  that 
the  cave  is  still  shown  in  a  hill  near 
Makkedah,  its  mouth  being  closed 
by  a  wall,  to  preserve  it  as  a  monu- 
ment.' 

28.  That  day  Joshua  tooTc  Makke- 
dah. The  same  day  on  which  the 
kings  were  himg,  and  which  we  have 
already  remarked  was  probably  the 
day  subsequent  to  tliat  on  which  the 
sun  stood  still.  Yet  it  is  possible  that 
the  sense  may  be,  that  about  that  time 


126 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451 


king  thereof  he  utterly  destroy- 
ed, them,  and  all  the  souls  that 
were  therein ;  he  let  none  re- 
main :  and  he  did  to  the  king 
of  Makkedah  '^as  he  did  unto 
the  king  of  Jericho. 

29  Then  Joshua  passed  from 
Makkedah,  and  all  Israel  with 
him,  unto  Libnah,  and  fought 
against  Libnah  : 

30  And  the  Lord  delivered  it 
also,  and  the  king  thereof,  into 
the  hand  of  Israel :  and  he  smoie 
it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
and  all  the  souls  that  were  there- 
in :    he   let  none  remain  in  it ; 

d  ch.  6.  21. 

— not  on  the  identical  day — he  took 
the  city  of  Makkedah.    It  might  have 

been  a  day  or  two  later. H  The 

king  thereof  he  utterly  destroyed.  Heb. 
fi'^^nn    he'harim,    devoted,    made    a 

curse. IT  AH    the    souls.      Heb. 

IL'CD  ^'D  kol  nephesh,  all  the  soul.  That 
is,  all  the  people,  men,  women,  and 
children;  for  it  would  appear  from 
ch.  11.  14,  that  the  cattle  and  spoils 

were  given  to  the  conquerors. 

IT  As  he  did  unto  the  Icing  of  Jericho. 
How  he  had  dealt  with  this  king  we 
are  not  expressly  informed.  Proba- 
'•>ly  he  had  been  first  slain,  and  then 
hanged  up,  as  was  the  king  of  Ai 
and  the  five  kings  here  mentioned. 

29.  And  all  Israel  with  him.  That 
is,  all  of  Israel  that  had  been  engaged 
with   him   in   this    late   expedition. 

IT  TJnto  Libnah.     A  city  in  the 

tribe  of  Judah  near  its  western  bor- 
der, not  far  from  Makkedah,  about 
twelve  miles  west  or  south-west  from 
Jerusalem.  It  was  afterwards  given 
to  the  priests,  ch.  21.  13.  Even  its 
ruins  have  now  disappeared. 

31.  Unto  Lachisk.    Situated  a  few 


but  did  unto  the  king  thereof 
as  he  did  unto  the  king  of  Jeri- 
cho. 

31  T"  And  Joshua  passed  from 
Libnah,  and  all  Israel  with  him, 
unto  Lachish,  and  encamped 
against  it,  and  fought  against  it : 

32  And  the  Lord  delivered 
Lachish  into  the  hand  of  Israel, 
which  took  it  on  the  second  day, 
and  smote  it  with  the  edge  of 
the  sword,  and  all  the  souls  that 
were  therein,  according  to  all 
that  he  had  done  to  Libnah. 

33  IT  Then  Horam  king  of 
Gezer  came  up  to  help  Lachish  ; 
and  Joshua  smote  him  and  his 


miles  directly  south  of  Libnah,  near 
the  western  limits  of  Judah.  It  was 
probably  a  strongly  fortified  place,  as 
Joshua  could  not  take  it  till  the  se- 
cond day,  and  Sennacherib  after- 
wards was  obliged  to  '  raise  the  siege.' 
2  Kings,  19.  8 ;  Is.  37.  8.  Nothing 
is  here  said  of  the  king  of  Lachish, 
as  he  was  one  of  the  five  \Yho  had 
been  executed  before. 

33.  Horam  king  of  Gezer.  There 
w^as  a  city  of  this  name  in  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim  twenty  miles  southw^est 
of  Jerusalem,  ch.  16.  3,  10 ;  Judges 
1.  19.  But  this  seems  too  remote 
from  the  scene  of  action.  The  prob- 
ability is,  that  it  was  some  place  in 
the  tribe  of  Judah  but  little  distant 
from  Lachish,  the  king  of  which 
either  as  an  ally  of  the  king  of  La- 
chish, or  for  his  own  security,  offered 
to  aid  in  resisting  the  further  pro- 
gress of  Joshua.  '  Thus  wicked  men 
are  often  snared  in  their  counsels, 
and,  by  opposing  God  in  the  w^ay  of 
his  judgments,  bring  them  sooner 
upon  their  own  heads.'    Henry. 

34.  Unto  Eglon.    Another  citv  of 


B.  C.  1451.] 


CHAPTER  X, 


127 


people,  until  he  had  left   him 
none  remainino-. 

34  H  And  from  Lachish  Joshua 
passed  unto  Eglon,  and  all  Israel 
with  him :  and  they  encamped 
against  it,  and  fought  against  it : 

35  And  they  took  it  on  tliat 
day,  and  smote  it  with  the  edge 
of  the  sword,  and  all  the  souls 
that  were  therein  he  utterly  de- 
stroyed that  day,  according  to 
all  that  he  had  done  to  Lachish. 

36  And  Joshua  went  up  from 


Judah,  near  to  Lachish,  and  fifteen 
miles  from  Jerusalem.     See  Map. 

35.  Took  it  on  that  day.  The  same 
day  on  which  they  encamped  against 
it. 

36,  37.  Unto  Hebron— and  the  king 
thereof.  Probably  a  successor  to  him 
who  had  been  slain  and  hanged  be- 
fore, V.  23,  26.  The  rank  which  this 
city  evidently  held  among  its  sister 
ciiies  doubUes^s  made  it  important 
that,  in  such  a  crisis  as  the  present, 
a  new  head  should  be  immediately 
appointed. — Though  now  taken,  the 
city  of  Hebron  seems  afterwards  to 
have  fallen  back  into  the  hands  of 
the  Canaanites,  which  made  it  ne- 
cessary for  Caleb  to  take  it  a  second 
time  as  related,ch.  15.  14;  Judges  1. 
10.  The  case  appears  to  have  been 
the  same  in  regard  to  some  other  of 
the  places  captured  on  this  occasion. 
Judges  1.  11-13.  The  reason  of  it 
was,  that  Joshua,  in  his  rapid  con- 
quests, contented  himself  with  tak- 
ing, demolishing,  and  burning  those 
ciiies,  but  did  not  garrison  any  of 
them  for  fear  of  weakening  his  army. 
The  scattered  Canaanites  in  several 
instances  no  doubt  took  advantage  of 
this,  returned,  repeopled,  and  put  in 


Eglon,  and  all  Israel  with  him, 
unto  *" Hebron  ;  and  they  fought 
against  it : 

37  And  they  took  it,  and  smote 
it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
and  the  king  thereof,  and  all  the 
cities  thereof,  and  all  the  souls 
that  icere  therein  ;  he  left  none 
remaining,  according  to  all  that 
he  had  done  to  Eglon,  but  de- 
stroyed it  utterly,  and  all  the 
souls  that  v^ere  therein. 

38  IT   And   Joshua    returned, 

e  See  ch.  14.  13.  and  15.  1-3.    Judg.  1.  10. 


a  state  of  defence,  the  cities  from 
which  they  had  been  expelled  Hence 
the  Israelites  were  obliged  to  conquer 
them  a  second  time.  So  the  Christian 
in  his  spiritual  warfare  finds  it  as 
much  as  he  can  do  to  keep  possession 
of  the  ground  which  he  has  once 
gained.  His  old  enemies  are  inces- 
santly returning  u{X)n  him.  His  bat- 
tles must  be  fought  and  his  victories 
achieved  anew.  The  lusts  which 
appeared  to  be  slain,  are  ever  and 
anon  giving  signs  that  they  still  live; 
and  are  intent  upon  regaining  their 
former  ascendency.  This  makes  it 
dangerous  to  remit  our  activity  for  a 
single  hour.  Constant  vigilance  is 
the  grand  condition  of  final  triumph. 

*C\All  the  ciiies  thereof.  The  cities 

subject  to  its  jurisdiction  and  depen- 
dant upon  it;  so  that  Hebron  was 
properly  speaking  a  metropolis,  i.  e. 
a  mother  city.  Such  too  was  Gibeon, 
spoken  of  above,  v.  2;  ch.  9.  17. 

38.  And  Joshua  returned.  That  is, 
turned  his  course,  began  to  march  in 
a  nevv  direction.  It  is  not  implied 
that  he  had  been  at  Debir  before; 
but  that  having  now  advanced  to  the 
southvvest  as  far  as  he  thotight  fit, 
even  as  far  as  Gaza,  v.  41,  he  turned 


128 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1451. 


and  all  Israel  with  him,  to  '^De- 
bir  ;  and  fought  against  it : 

39  And  he  took  it,  and  the 
king  thereof,  and  all  the  cities 
thereof,  and  they  smote  them 
with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and 
utterly  destroyed  all  the  souls 
that  icere  therein  :  he  left  none 
remaining :  as  he  had  done  to 
Hebron,  so  he  did  to  Debir,  and 
to  the  king  thereof;  as  he  had 

f  See  ck  16.  15.    Judg.  1.  11. 

and  directed  his  course  towards  Gil- 
gal,  l3'ing  to  the  northeast,  and  fell 
upon  Debir  on  his  way.  This  city 
was  in  the  tribe  of  Judah.  about  thirty 
miles  southwest  of  Jerusalem  and 
'.en  miles  west  of  Hebron.  It  was 
also  called  Kirjath-Sepher,  ch.  15. 15, 
and  Kirjath-Sannah,  ch.  15.  19,  per- 
haps from  its  being  one  of  the  seats 
of  learning  among  the  Canaanites; 
the  name  Kirjath-Sepher  signifying 
the  citij  of  books  or  of  letters.  The 
Canaanites  having  subsequently  re- 
taken it,  Caleb,  to  whom  it  fell  by 
lot,  gave  his  daughter  Achsah  in 
marriage  to  Othniel  for  his  bravery 
in  having  carried  it  by  storm,  ch.  15. 
16.  It  was  afterwards  given  to  the 
priests,  ch.  21.  15,  btit  no  trace  of  it 
is  to  be  found  at  the  present  time. 

40.  Smote  all  ike  country  of  the 
hills.  Overrun  as  a  conqueror,  sub- 
dued and  took  possession  of  all  the 
southern  section  of  Canaan,  familiar- 
{y  known  by  the  appellation  of  *^Tn 
Hahar,  i.  e.  tlic  hill-coMntry,  which 
subsequently  fell  to  the  lot  of  Judah. 
Of  this  mountainous  region  Burck- 
hardt  says,  the  whole  country  be- 
tween Tekoa  and  Hebron  is  finer 
and  better  cultivated  than  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Jerusalem ;  while 
the  sides  0-1  the  hills^  instead  of  being 


done  also  to  Libnah,  and  to  he? 
king. 

40  IT  So  Joshua  smote  all  the 
country  of  the  hills,  and  of  the 
south,  and  of  the  vale,  and  of 
the  springs,  and  all  their  kings : 
he  left  none  remaining,  bat 
utterly  destroyed  all  that  breath- 
ed, as  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
"commanded. 

gDeut.20.  16,  17 


naked  and  dreary,  are  richly  studded 
with  the  oak,  the  arbutus,  the  Scotch 
fir,  and  a  variety  of  flowei-ing  shrubs. 
Of  the  hitherto  unknown  tract  south 
of  Hebron,  Bankes,  Leigh,  Irby  and 
Mangles  inform  us  that  three  days 
to  the  south  of  Hebron,  they  passed 
towards  the  Dead  Sea  through  a 
country  well  cultivated,  but  extreme- 
ly uninteresting  :  eight  or  nine  miles 
beyond  Kerek  they  found  themselves 
on  the  borders  of  an  extensive  deserJ, 
entirely  abandoned  to  the  wandering 
Bedouins.  A  tribe  of  Jellaheen  Arabs 
here  told  them,  that  in  years  of  scar- 
city they  were  accustomed  to  retire 
into  Egypt.  The  same  necessity 
compelled  Jacob  to  the  same  expedi- 
ent :  and  the  custom  seems  handed 
down  from  the  patriarchs.    See  Rui- 

selVs  Palestine. '^  Of  the   SoutL 

That  is,  of  Canaan.  The  southern 
part  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  Idu- 
mea  was  designated  by  the  general 

term,  the  smith.    Gen.  20.  1. 1i  O/ 

the  vale.  Heb.  n^Birn  hashshephelah 
the  low  countrn,  i.  e.  the  levrl  cham- 
paign •n  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  ex- 
tending from  Joppa  to  the  borders  of 
Egypt.     Deut.  1.  1;  Judg.  1.  9;   Jer. 

17.    26. nr    The    springs.      Heb. 

nn^Ui^n  haashdoth,  the  descents,  i.  e, 
probably  the  slopes  or  declivities  of 


B.  C.  1450.] 


CHAPTER  XI. 


129 


41  And  Joshua  smote  them 
from  Kadesh-barnea  even  unto 
''Gaza,  'and  all  the  country  of 
Goshen,  even  unto  Gibeon. 

42  And  all  these  kings  and 
their  land  did  Joshua  take  at 
one  time;  ''because  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel  fought  for  Israel. 

43  And  Joshua  returned,  and 

h  Gen.  10.  19.     i  ch.  11.  16.    k  ver.  14. 


mountains,  tracts  formed  by  the  wash- 
ing down  of  the  mountains,  and  so 
capable  of  cultivation.     See  Num. 

21.  15  ;    Deut,  3.  17. IT  Destroyed 

all  that  breathed.  That  is,  of  man- 
kind; for  they  kept  the  cattle  for 
spoil. 

41.  All  ike  country  of  Goshen.  Not 
the  country  of  that  name  in  Egypt, 
the  former  residence  of  the  Hebrews, 
but  a  place  so  called  in  Judah,  four- 
teen miles  south  of  Hebron,  ch.  11. 
16;   15.  51. 

42.  At  one  time.  Heb.  nni«  t^^'S 
paani  ehath,  at  one  turn  or  one  stroke, 
i.  e.  in  one  uninterrupted  course  of 
vigorous  action;  or,  as  we  should 
say,  in  one  campaign.  The  leading 
idea  is  that  from  the  time  Joshua  en- 
tered upon  this  career  of  victories, 
till  it  was  closed,  there  was  no  pause, 

no    intermission,   no    cessation. 

^Because  the  Lord  fought  for  Israel. 
This  clause  is  introduced  in  order 
to  give  credibility  to  the  foregoing 
narrative.  Viewed  in  any  other  light 
than  as  the  result  of  omnipotence, 
such  a  tide  of  victories  would  natu- 
rally stagger  all  belief 


all   Israel  with 
camp  to  Gilgal. 


him,  unto  the 


A 


CHAPTER  XL 


ND  it  came  to 


pass, 


when 


Jabin  king  of  Hazor  had 
heard  those,  things^  that  he  "sent 
to  Jobab  king  of  Madon,  and  to 
the  king  ^of  Shimron,  and  to  the 
king  of  Achshaph, 

a  ch.  10.  3.    b  ch.  19.  15. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

1.  Jabin  king  of  Hazsr.  After  the 
very  remarkable  reduction  of  the 
southern  parts  of  Canaan,  related  in 


the  foregoing  chapter,  the  kings  of 
the  north  becoming  apprehensive  for 
their  safety,  are  here  presented  in  the 
act  of  making  a  common  interest, 
and  uniting  with  Jabin  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  farther  progress  of  the  Israel- 
iiei^.  Jabin  was  probably  the  common 
name  of  all  the  kings  of  Hazor,  as 
we  find  that  the  king  by  whom  the 
Israelites  were  afterwards  kept  in 
bondage  for  twenty  years,  and  w^ho 
was  defeated  by  Deborah  and  Barak, 
was  so  called.  The  name  signifies 
wise,  or  intelligent.  Hazor  was  a 
strong  city  on  the  west  side  of  the 
waters  of  Merom,  or  lake  Samecho- 
nitis,  and  the  capital  of  northern  Ca- 
naan. In  the  distribution  of  the  land 
it  fell  to  the  tribe  of  Naphtali.  It 
was  in  subsequent  times  frequently 
the  seat  of  war,  but  not  a  rain  now 
remains  to  mark  the  place  where  it 

stood. ^  Madon.      The   position 

of  this  city  is  unknown.  It  was 
doubtless  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 

others  here  mentioned. UShimron. 

Called  also  Shimron-Meron,  ch.  12, 
10.  It  fell  afterwards  to  the  lot  of 
Zebulon,  and  was  situated  about 
eleven  miles   to   the  north-east    of 

Nazareth. IT  Achshaph.     Situated 

in  the  tribe  of  Asher,  near  the  con- 
fines of  Zebulon.  It  was  reduced  to 
a  small  village,  called  Chasalus,  in 


130 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1450. 


2  And  to  the  kings  that  icere 
on  the  north  of  the  mountains, 
and  of  the  plains  south  of 'Cin- 
neroth,  and  in  the  valley,  and 
in  the  borders  '^of  Dor  on  the 
west, 

3  And  to  the  Canaanite  on  the 
east  and  on  the  west,  and  to  the 
Amorite,   and   the  Hittite,  and 

r.  Nmn.  34.  11.  d  ch.  17.  II.  Judg.  1.  27. 
1  Kings  4. 11.      " 


the  Perizzite,  and  the  Jebusite 
in  the  mountains,  ^and  to  the 
Hivite  under  4iermon  ^in  the 
land  of  Mizpeh. 

4  And  they  went  out,  they  and 
all  their  hosts  with  them,  much 
people,  ''even  as  the  sand  that 
is  upon  the  sea-shore  in  multi- 

e  .Judg.  3.  3.  f  ch.  13.  11.  P  Gen.  31.  49. 
h  Gen.  22. 17,  and  31. 12.  Judg.  7.  12.  1  Sam. 
13.  5. 


the  time  of  Jerome,  at  the  close  of  the 
fourth  century,  but  is  now  entirely 
swept  away. 

2,  That  isere  on  the  north  of  the 
mountains.  Heb.  ^HS  *|12::?2  mitz- 
zephonbahai-^from  the  north  in  the 
mountain,  i.  e.  residing  in  the  moun- 
tainous region  of  the  north,  the  tract 

of   Anti-Libanus. ^   The   plains 

south  of  Cinneroth.  Heb.  ("C^iSJl 
baarabah,  flain.  An  ancient  city, 
belonging  afterwards  to  the  tribe  of 
Naphtali,  and  supposed  to  have  occu- 
pied the  same  site  with  the  more 
modern  Tiberias.  From  this  city  or 
village,  the  sea  of  Chinneroih,  or 
Gennesareih,  probably  had  its  name. 
From  the  original  it  is  not  perfectly 
clear  whether  the  plain  spoken  of  lay 
to  the  south  of  Chinneroth,  or  Chin- 
neroth  to  the  south  of  that.  In  the 
former  case,  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  the  plain  of  the  Jordan,  which 
we  think  less  likely. ^  In  the  val- 
ley. In  the  low  or  valley  tracts  gen- 
erally, in  contradistinction  from  the 
mountainous  points  which  were  in- 
habited.  IT  The  borders   of  Dor. 

This  was  a  place  on  the  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  about  nine  miles 
north  of  Cesarea  Palestine,  and  at  a 
little  distance  from  mount  Carmel. 
A  small  village,  called  Tortura,  is 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  ruins  of  the  an- 


cient town,  containing  forty  or  fifty 
houses. 

3.  The  Canaanite  on  the  east,  &c. 
The  Canaaniies,  properly  so  called, 
dwelt  part  of  them  in  the  east  near 
Jordan,  and  part  on  the  west  near 

the  sea ;   both  are  here  united. 

ITTAe  Hivite  under  Eermon.  At  the 
foot  of  mount  Hermon  ;  of  which 
motinlain  see  on  Deut.  3.  9.  They 
are  designated  in  this  way  to  distin- 
guish them  from  another  portion  of 
the  same  race  dwelling  at  Gibeon, 
of  whom  we  have  already  spoken, 

^  In  the  land  of  Mizpeh.     That 

is,  the  land  of  watchiitg  or  espial,  so 
called  from  its  commanding  an  ex- 
tensive prospect  of  the  surrounding 
country,  from  which  the  approach  or 
movements  of  an  enemy  might  be 
discovered.  There  were  several 
places  of  this  name,  but  reference  is 
here  undoubtedly  had  to  that  lying 
in  the  northern  quarter  of  Gilead, 
where  Laban  and  Jacob  made  their 
covenant,  as  related  Gen.  31.  48,  49. 

4.  And  they  icent  out.  Took  the 
field  J  a  phrase  frequently  employed 
by  the  sacred  writers  for  going  forth 
upon  a  military  expedition.  Thus 
2  Sam.  11.  1,  'And  it  came  to  pass 
— at  the  time  when  kings  go  forth' 
i.  6.  to  battle,  as  our  version  rightly 
understands  it.    Comp.  Num.  21 .  23 


B.  C   1450.] 


CHAPTER  XL 


131 


tude,  with  horses  and  chariots  [   6  IT  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
very  many. 

5  And  when  all  these  kings 
were  met  together,  they  came 
and  pitched  together  at  the  wa- 
ters of  Merom,  to  tight  against 
Israel. 


Job  39.  21. -^  As  the  sand  that  is 

upon  the  sea-shore.  A  proverbial  ex- 
pression used  to  denote  a  vast  but 
indefinite  number — a  number  of 
which  no  accurate  estimate  could  be 
formed.  Josephus,  upon  what  au- 
thority we  know  not,  is  more  pariicu- 
lar.  He  states  the  number  at  300,000 
foot,  10,000  horse,  and  20,000  cha- 
riots of  war.  Whether  this  be  cor- 
rect or  not,  the  words  of  the  text  lead 
us  to  infer  that  a  vast  population  now 
occupied  the  land  of  promise,  and 
that  the  soil  must  have  been  of  exu- 
berant fertility  to  sustain  it.  The 
immense  multitude,  moreover,  of  the 
enemy  went  to  heighten  the  glory  of 

Joshua's   victory. IT  With  horses 

and  chariots  v<e?-y  many,  Heb.  DID 
li^72  3"1  DD"n  sus  va-rekeb  rob  meod, 
horse  and  chariot  very  much.  The 
horses  were  probably  brought  out  of 
Egypt  or  Armenia,  and  not  bred  in 
Canaan,  which  was  not  a  country 
favorable  to  their  production  or  use, 
Deut.  17.  16;  1  Kings  10.  28,  29. 
The  war  chariots  of  the  Canaanites 
are  supposed  to  have  been  armed 
with  iron  scythes  fastened  to  the 
poles  and  to  the  ends  of  the  axle- 
trees.  When  furiously  driven  they 
would  make  fearful  havoc  in  the 
ranks  of  infantry— of  which  only 
were  the  forces  of  Israel  composed — 
mowing  them  down  like  grass.  In 
view  therefore  of  such  a  formidable 
armament    mustered    against    him, 


Joshua,  'Be  not  afraid  because 
of  them :  for  to-morrow  about 
this  time  will  1  deliver  them  up 
all  slain  before  Israel :  thou 
shalt  ''hough  their  horses,  and 
burn  their  chariots  with  fire. 

1  ch.  10.  8.     k  2  Sam.  8.  4. 


Joshua  receives  from  the  Lord  a 
special  encouragement  and  promise 
of  success. 

5.  Were  met  together.  Heb.  "IIU'T^ 
yivvciedu,  icere  assembled  by  appoint- 
ment. In  pursuance  of  previous  ar- 
rangements.    Chal.  '  Met  at  a  time 

agreed  upon.' ^  At  the  waters  of 

Merom.  Generally  understood  of 
the  lake  Semechon  or  Samechonitis, 
lying  between  the  head  of  the  river 
Jordan  and  the  lake  of  Gennesaret. 
The  name  imports  '  highness,'  and 
is  supposed  to  be  so  called  because 
its  waters  were  higher  than  those  of 
the  sea  of  Galilee.  The  Arabic 
Samaka,  from  which  Semechon  is 
derived,  has  the  .same  import.  It  is 
situated  in  a  valley,  and  is  now- 
called  Bahhrat  el-Hhule,  i.  e.  the  lake 
of  the  valky,  a  valley  formed  by  the 
two  branches  of  mount  Hermon.  In 
summer  the  lake  is  for  the  most  part 
di*y,  and  covered  with  shrubs  and 
grass,  in  which  lions,  bears,  and  other 
wild  beasts  conceal  themselves. 

6.  Shall  hoiigh  their  horses.  That 
is,  hamstring  them,  cut  the  sinews  of 
their  legs.  On  the  effects  of  such  a 
treatment  of  these  animals,  Mich- 
aelis  remarks,  that  '  irom  ignorance 
of  military  affairs,  most  expositors 
have  understood  this  command,  as 
if  it  meant,  not  that  the  horses  should 
be  killed,  but  merely  lamed  in  their 
hind  legs,  and  then  let  go.  But  a 
horse  so  treated,  must,  instead  of  run- 


I3E3 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1450 


7  So  Joshua  came,  and  all  the 
people  of  war  with  him,  against 
them  by  the  waters   of  Merom 

ning  off,  fall  instantly  backwards, 
and  writhe  about  miserably  till  he 
die,  which  generally  happens  from 
loss  of  blood,  by  the  stroke  of  the 
sabre  cutting  the  artery  of  the  thigh. 
This  is  still,  as  military  people  have 
since  informed  me,  the  plan  adopted 
to  make  those  horses  that  are  taken, 
but  cannot  be  easily  brought  away, 
unser^'iceable  to  the  enemy  again. 
They  hamstring  them,  which  can  be 
done  in  an  instant ;  and  they  gene- 
rally die  of  the  wonnd  by  bleeding  to 
death;  but  though  they  should  not, 
the  wound  never  heals  ;  so  that  even 
if  the  enemy  recover  them  alive,  he 
is  forced  to  dispatch  them ;  and  eve- 
ry compassionate  friend  of  hoi'ses 
who  has  ever  seen  one  in  that  situa- 
tion, will  do  so  in  order  to  terminate 
his  misery.  There  is  no  founda- 
tion for  Kimchi's  opinion,  that  mere 
laming  was  enjoined,  because  it 
would  be  wrong  to  put  an  animal  im- 
necessarily  to  death.  For  thus  to 
lame  a  horse  that  would  still  live,  in 
my  opinion,  would  rather  have  been 
extreme  cruelty  ;  because,  being  then 
uselesSj  nobody  would  be  likely  to 
give  him  any  food.'  {Comment,  on 
Latvs  of  Moses,  Art.  Lxiv.)  The 
reasons  for  prescribing  such  a  treat- 
ment probably  were  (1)  Because  God 
would  have  his  people  act  upon  the 
resolution  expressed  by  the  Psalmist, 
Ps.  20.  7,  '  Some  trust  in  chariots  and 
some  in  horses;  but  we  will  remem- 
ber the  name  of  the  Lord  our  God.' 
If  horses  had  been  in  common  use 
among  them,  they  would  have  been 
apt  to  rely  upon  them  instead  of  trust- 
ing to  the  aid  of  omnipotence   in 


suddenly,   and   they   fell    upon 
them. 
8  And    the     Lord    delivered 


achicAdng  their  conquests.  But  God's 
design  was  to  cut  them  off  from  hu- 
man resources,  and  by  enabling  a 
company  of  raw  and  inexperienced 
footmen  to  rout  bodies  of  cavalry,  to 
secure  the  glory  of  the  victory  to  his 
own  right  arm,  to  which  only  it  was 
due.  (2)  Because  horses  were  a  kind 
of  useless  plunder  to  the  Israelites, 
From  the  nature  of  the  country  they 
could  not  well  be  employed  for  pur- 
poses of  agriculture.  In  that  rough 
and  mountainous  land,  oxen  and 
asses  could, be  employed  to  much 
greater  advantage  ;  and  as  to  travel- 
ling, it  was  never  designed  that  the 
Israelites  should  be  a  travelling  peo- 
ple. They  were  to  be  an  agricultu- 
ral and  not  a  commercial  race.  They 
were  to  live  apart  froin  other  nations 
as  a  religious  community.  Their 
stated  journeys  to  Jerusalem  to  attend 
upon  the  religious  festivals  would  be 
about  all  the  travelling  that  v.ould  be 
necessary,  and  this  on  their  rough 
roads  could  be  better  performed  on 
foot  or  on  asses  than  on  horses.  Such 
of  these  animals  therefore  as  they 
took  in  war  could  be  of  no  use  to 
them,  unless  they  sold  them,  and  this 
would  not  be  wise,  as  they  might 
finally  have  come  round  again  into 
the  hands  of  their  enemies.  The  true 
policy  accordingly  was  to  diminish 
as  far  as  possible  this  race  of  animals, 
which  might  give  their  enemies  ti 
signal  advantage,  and  in  this  policy 
we  suppose  the  present  order  to  have 
originated. 

7.  Suddenly.  The  great  feature 
of  Joshua's  military  operations  ap- 
pears to  have  been  dispatcJi..     In  the 


B   C.  1450.] 


CHAPTER  XI. 


133 


them  into  the  hand  of  Israel, 
who  smote  them,  and  chased 
them  unto  great  Zidon,  and  unto 
'Misrephoth-maim,  and  unto  the 
valley  of  Mispeh  eastward  ;  and 
they  smote  them,  until  they  left 
them  none  remaining. 

9  And  Joshua  did  unto  them 
"^  as  the  Lord  bade  him :  he 
houghed  their  horses,  and  burnt 
their  chariots  with  fire. 

1  ch.  13.  6.     m  ver.  6. 


celerity  of  his  movements  he  seems 
to  have  equalled  the  most  renowned 
generals  whether  of  ancient  or  mod- 
ern times.  Being  now  apprised  of 
this  grand  combination  of  the  north- 
ern kings,  he  loses  no  time,  but  by  a 
forced  march,  and  before  they  could 
have  supposed  him  at  hand,  comes 
suddenly  upon  them  and  puts  them 
to  the  rout. 

8.  Unto  great  Zidon.  A  well 
known  city  of  Ancient  Phenicia,  sit- 
uated on  the  east  coast  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, about  twenty-five  miles 
north  of  Tyre,  fifty  south  of  Berytus 
(Beyroot),  and  sixty-six  west  of  Da- 
mascus. Its  modern  name  is  Said. 
The  epithet  fQ"!  rabbah,  great,  here 
aifixed  to  it,  is  expressive  of  number 
rather  than  of  size,  and  implies  not 
only  its  pojndousuess,  but  the  eztoit 
and  variety  of  its  resources  of  every 

kind. IT  Misrephoth-maim.      Or, 

Heb.  tri2  tr\t)y^)2  MisrepoLh  of  the 
waters,  i.  e.  tke  Likrning  of  the  waters ; 
but  whether  so  called  from  its  being 
noted  for  hot  springs,  or  the  manufac- 
ture of  glass,  or  of  salt,  each  of  which 
has  been  conjectured,  or  from  some 
fflher  cause,  it  is  not  possible  to  deter- 
mine. It  is  supposed  to  have  been  a 
place  on  the  sea  coast,  about  three 

miles  north  of  Si  don. IT  Valley  of 

12 


10  ^  And  Joshua  at  that  time 
turned  back,  and  took  Hazor, 
and  smote  the  king  thereof  with 
the  sword  :  for  Hazor  before- 
time  was  the  head  of  all  those 
kingdoms. 

11  And  they  smote  all  the 
souls  that  were  therein  wi^h  the 
edge  of  the  sword,  utterly  de- 
stroying them :  there  was  not 
any  left  to  breathe  :  and  he 
burnt  Hazor  with  fire. 


Mizpeh.  Under  mount  Hcrmon,  as 
appears  by  comparing  this  with  v.  5 
and  17,  in  the  latter  of  which  it  ap- 
pears to  be  called  the  valley  of  Leba- 
non. This  place  lay  on  the  east,  as 
Sidon  did  on  the  west,  so  that  the 
vanquished  enemy  fled  in  two  difier- 
ent  directions,  in  both  of  which  they 

were  pursued  by  the  conquerors. 

IT  Until  they  left  them  none  reynaining. 
From  other  portions  of  the  history, 
it  is  plain  that  this  language  here  and 
elsewhere,  is  not  to  be  construed  in 
its  most  literal  import.  Numbers  of 
the  Canaan ites  did  undoubtedly  es- 
cape the  sword  of  the  Israelites,  and 
fled  to  Zidon,  Tyre  and  other  mari- 
time cities ;  and  even  here  it  appears 
that  Jabin  escaped  with  his  life  from 
the  battle.  But  the  drift  of  the  words 
is  to  intimate,  that  they  left  none 
alive  who  fell  into  their  hands,  whom- 
soever they  encountered  or  overtook 
they  slew. 

10.  Hazor — was  the  head,  &c.  Not 
of  all  Canaan,  but  of  those  northern 
principalities  which  were  combined 
in  this  expedition  against  Israel. 
This  city,  however,  after\\^ards  re- 
covered itself,  and  grievously  op- 
pressed the  people  of  Israel,  Judges 
4.2. 

11.  Not  any  left  to  breathe.     Heb. 


134 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1450 


12  And  all  the  cities  of  those 
kings,  and  all  the  kings  of  them, 
did  Joshua  take,  and  smoie 
them  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  and  he  utterly  destroyed 

n?3^JD  nishmah,  any  breath,  i.  e.  not 

any  human  being. ^ He  burnt  Ha- 

zor  wilhjire.  Comp.  v.  13.  It  is  not 
said  expressly  of  the  Israelites,  in 
this  part  of  the  narrative,  that  theij 
burnt  any  city  whatever,  as  such  a 
statement  might  give  rise  to  the  im- 
pression that,  in  the  ardor  of  military 
zeal,  they  were  guilty  of  excesses, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  a  licentious  sol- 
diery, were  eager  to  apply  the  torch 
to  the  devoted  cities.  On  the  contra- 
ry, the  act  is  andbuted  to  Joshua, 
implying  that  it  was  done  calmly  and 
deliberately,  and  in  all  likelihood  by 
Divine  direction.  The  phraseology 
is  so  constructed  as  to  give  a  striking 
testimony  to  the  moderation  and  self- 
control  of  the  armies  of  the  Most 
High. 

12.  Utterly  destroyed  them.  That 
is,  the  persons,  the  inhabitants ;  for 
many  of  the  cities  themselves,  as  well 
as  the  spoils  which  they  contained, 
were  preserved,  as  we  learn  in  the 
en>uing  verse. 

13.  The  cities  that  stood  still  in  their 
strength.  Heb.  fi^n  ^3>  nn?25'  omee- 
deth  al  lillaoi,  standing  iipon,  or  by, 
their  heaps.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
point  out  any  single  expression  in 
the  whole  book  of  Joshua,  perhaps  in 
the  whole  Scriptures,  more  difficult 
of  explanation  than  this.  The  exact 
literal  version  of  the  words  we  have 
given  above ;  but  our  common  trans- 
lation has  followed  the  Chaldee  para- 
phrase in  rendering  the  Heb.  ^n  tal, 
by  '  strength,' a  sense  which  it  has  in 
no  other  instance,  that  we  can  dis- 


them,  "  as  Moses  the  servant  of 
the  Lord  commanded. 

13  But  as  for  the   cities  that 
stood   still    in    their   strength , 


n  Num.  33.  52.    Deut.  7. 2,  and  20. 16, 17. 


cover,  in  the  compass  of  the  sacred 
writings.     Its  prevailing  and  legiti- 
mate import  is  a   '•  heap  of  ruins.' 
Thus  Deut.  13, 16,  in  reference  to  the 
city  which  had  become  the  seat  of 
idolatry  •,  '  Thou  shalt  gather  all  the 
spoil  of  it  into  the  midst  of  the  street 
thereof,  and  shalt  burn  with  fire  the 
city,  and  all  the  spoil  thereof  for  the 
Lord  thy  God;   and  it  shall  be  an 
heap  (bn)  for  ever;  it  shall  not  be 
built  again.'  Josh.  8. 28,  'And  Joshua 
burnt  Ai,  and  made  it  an  heap  (''n) 
for  ever,  even  a  desolation  unto  this 
day.'    Jer.  49.  2,  '  I  will  cause  an 
alarm  of  war  to  be  heard  in  Rabbah 
of  the  Ammonites,  and  it  shall  be  a 
desolate   heap  CnlZlZlD  ^D  tal  shema- 
7nah),  and  her   daughters   shall    be 
burned  with  fire.'    Jer.  30.  18,  '  The 
city  shall  be  builded  upon   her  own 
heap  (nid  iillah) ;'  i.  e.  upon  its  own 
ruins.      These  examples  show    the 
genuine  force  of  the  word.   The  mass 
of   expositors,    however,   from    the 
affinity  of  the  ideas  of  a  heap  of  ruins 
and  an  eminence,  or  elevation  of  any 
kind,  and  not  knowing  what  to  un- 
derstand  by   cities   '  standing   upon 
their  ruinous  heaps,'  have  been  led 
to  interpret  it  of  cities  standing  upon 
hills,  or  rocky  heights,  forming  natu- 
ral fortresses  of  great  streng  h,  and 
such  as  the  Israelites  chose  to  retain 
for  their  own  use.     To  this  solution 
we  should   have  nothing  to  object 
were  it  warranted  by  the  native  im- 
port of  the  term;   but  we  are  per- 
suaded it  is  not.    The  true  rendermg 
is  unquestionably  that  which  we  ha  v 


B.  C.  1450.] 


CHAPTER  XI. 


185 


Israel  burned  none  of  them, 
save  Hazor  only  ;  that  did  Josh- 
ua burn 

14  And  all  the  spoil  of  these 
cities,  and  the  cattle,  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  took  for  a  prey 
unto  themselves  :  but  every  man 
they  smote  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  until  they  had  destroyed 
them,  neither  left  they  any  to 
breathe. 

15  H  °  As  the  Lord  command- 

o  Exod.  34.  11,  12. 


given,  and  a  consistent  sense  is  to  be 
sought  for  the  phrase.  From  an  at- 
tentive comparison  of  the  context,  it 
appears  that  ihe  kings  and  the  inhab- 
itants of  these  cities  were  ail  put  to 
the  sword,  while  the  cattle  and  the 
spoil  generally  went  into  the  hands 
of  the  captors.  During  the  time, 
therefore,  of  the  actual  occurrence 
of  these  events,  the  cities  in  question 
must  have  presented  a  fearful  scene 
of  carnage  and  desolation.  Heaps 
of  lifeless  bodies  and  of  gathered 
spoil  would  be  accumulated  in  the 
streets,  and  wherever  such  a  com- 
plete conquest  and  pillage  could 
be  easily  effected  without  demolish- 
ing the  walls,  buildings,  or  fortifica 
tions  of  the  cities,  those  cities  might 
be  said  to  '  stand  still,  or  continue  to 
stand  upon,  over,  or  by  their  ruinous 
heaps,'  i.  e.  heaps  of  the  slain  and 
heaps  of  spoil.  This  doubtless  was 
the  case  in  numerous  instances.  It 
was  not  absolutely  necessary  to  raze 
and  burn  all  the  cities,  and  so  many 
of  them  were  spared  ;  but  Hazor  be- 
ing the  head  of  the  confederacy  and 
more  guilty  than  the  rest,  was  prop- 
erly made  an  exception  and  utterly 

destroyed. ^Save  Hazor  only.  As 

this  city  had  begun  the  war,  and  from 


ed  Moses  his  servant,  so  ^did 
Moses  command  Joshua,  and 
''so  did  Joshua  :  he  left  nothing 
undone  of  ail  that  the  Lord 
commanded  Moses. 

16  So  Joshua  took  all  that 
land,  'the  hills,  and  all  the  south 
country,  'and  all  the  land  of  Go- 
shen, and  the  valley  and  the 
plain,  and  the  mountain  of  Isra- 
el, and  the  valley  of  the  same  : 

P  Deut.  7.  2.  q  ch.  1.  7.  r  ch.  12.8.  s  ch. 
10.  41. 

its  being  a  royal  residence  and  strong- 
ly fortified  might,  if  it  should  fall 
back  into  the  hands  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  possess  peculiar  facilities  for  re- 
newing and  carrying  it  on  afresh, 
Joshua  deemed  it  prudent  to  guard 
against  all  danger  from  that  quarter 
by  demolishing  it  altogether. —  So  the 
Christian,  if  he  finds  his  spiritual  ene- 
mies likely  to  entrench  themselves  in 
any  particular  corruption  or  infirmity 
of  his  nature,  and  thence  to  make  vio- 
lent inroads  upon  his  peace,  is  bound 
at  all  hazards,  by  crucifying  such  a 
lust,  to  deprive  them  of  this  advan- 
tage. If  they  can  be  dislodged  from 
their  stronghold  in  no  other  way,  let 
him  destroy  the  stronghold  itself. 

14.  All  the  spoils  of  these  cities—  Is- 
rael took.  With  the  exception  of 
such  things  as  had  been  employed 
for  idolatrous  purposes,  Deut.  7.  25. 

15.  As  the  Lord  commanded  Moses, 
&c.  A  virtual  vindication  of  the  Is- 
raelites from  the  charge  of  cruelty 
which  might  possibly  be  brought 
against  them  in  view  of  the  severi- 
ties exercised  towards  these  van- 
quished kings  and  people  of  Canaan. 

IT  He  left  nothing  undone.     Or, 

Heb.  ^m  S^On  i^b  lo  hesir  dabar, 
removed,  rejected^  diminished  nothing. 


186 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1450. 


17  ^Even  from  the  mount  Ha- 
lak,  that  goeth  up  to  Seu,  even 
unto  Baal-gad,  in  the  valley  of 
Lebanon  under  mount  Hermon  ; 

I  ch..l2.  7. 


16.  T/ie  mountain  of  Israel  and  the 
valley  of  the  same.  Not  any  particu- 
lar mouniain  and  valley,  but  the 
mountains  and  valhys  generally  in- 
cluded in  the  whole  extent  of  the 
land  of  Israel. 

17.  From  the  Mount  Halak.  That 
is,  Heb.  p^nn  'inn  hahar  hehalak, 
the  hare,  smooth,  or  bald  7nountain,  so 
called  from  its  being  destiiuie  of  trees. 
The  writer's  design  seems  to  be  to 
specify  the  extreme  southern  and 
northern  limits  of  the  promised  land. 
Joshua's  conquests  extended  from  the 
borders  of  Seir  or  Edom,  where 
Mount  Halak  was  situated,  north- 
ward to  Baal-gad,  which  lies  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Lebanon, 

18.  Joshua  made  v:ar  a  long  time. 
Heb.  t5"^i"l  D^Ja"^  yaniim  rabbim,  ma- 
ny days.  As  many  at  least  as  six  or 
seven  years ;  as  appears  from  com- 
paring ch.  14.  7-10 ;  the  first  having 
been  occupied  in  the  conquest  of  the 
southern  portion  of  the  land,  and  the 
remaining  five  or  six  in  that  of  the 
northern.  It  would  seem  that  the 
writer  by  inserting  this  statement 
here  designed  to  guard  the  reader 
against  the  impression  that,  as  the 
record  of  these  wars  is  very  brief,  so 
the  space  of  time  in  which  they  were 
accomplished  was  also  brief.  This 
by  no  means  follows,  as  the  present 
account  is  intended  as  a  mere  rapid 
sketch  or  outline  of  Israel's  victories 
over  the  nations  of  Canaan,  In  the 
sacred  writings  the  compass  of  a  few 
sentences  often  contains  the  events 
of  many  years.— "We  may  not  per- 


and  "  all  their  kings  he  took,  and 
smote  them,  and  slew  them. 

18  Joshua   made  war  a  long 
time  with  all  those  kings. 

u  Deul.  7.  24.  ch.  12.  7, 


haps  be  able  to  state  all  the  reasons 
that  weighed  in  the  Divine  mind  for 
thus  prolonging  the  warfare  of  his 
people,  but  of  one  we  are  assured  by 
God  himself,  Deut,  7,  22,  '  The  Lord 
thy  God  will  put  out  those  nations 
before  thee  by  little  and  little  ;  thou 
mayest  not  consume  them  at  once, 
lest  the  beasts  of  the  jkld  increase  npon 
thee}  In  addition  to  this,  it  was  no 
doubt  the  purpose  of  heaven  to  try 
the  faith  and  patience  of  his  people 
by  a  long  series  of  arduous  struggles. 
Although  the  commencement  of  the 
work  was  marked  by  a  succession  of 
wonderful  interpositions  in  their  be- 
half, yet  in  its  progress  they  were  to 
be  left  more  to  their  personal  exer- 
tions. God  would  not  make  his  mi- 
raculous aid  too  cheap  in  their  eyes 
by  making  it  common.  He  would 
train  them  to  a  course  of  the  most 
vigorous  efforts  on  their  part,  while 
at  the  same  time  they  were  taught 
their  continual  dependence  on  Him 
for  success  in  their  conflicts.  This 
is  in  beautiful  analogy  with  the  war- 
fare of  the  Christian.  In  its  com- 
mencement, at  the  outset  of  the 
Christian  life,  the  power  of  God  is 
no  less  wonderfully  displayed  than  in 
the  history  before  us.  The  transition 
of  a  soul  from  darkness  to  light  is 
virtually  a  miracle.  It  is  effected  by 
the  sovereign  power  of  God  as  really, 
and  to  the  sinner's  consciousness  in 
many  instances  as  marvellously,  as 
the  passage  of  Israel  through  the 
cloven  waters  of  Jordan.  But  in  'i< 
progress,  the  work  is  carried  forw.id 


B.  C.  1450.] 


CHAPTER  XL 


137 


19  There  was  not  a  city  that 
made  j^eace  with  the  children 
of  Israel,  save  ^  the  Hivites  the 


X  ch.  9.  3.  7.     y  Deut.  2. 


Judg.  14.  4. 


more  appropriately  by  his  own  act- 
ings. He  has  the  armor  given  him, 
but  his  own  activity  is  called  forth  in 
the  use  of  it.  His  whole  life  is  to 
be  a  slate  of  warfare,  and  it  is  by 
hard  fighting  that  he  is  to  obtain  the 
victory.  No  one  enemy  will  submit 
to  him  without  an  obstinate  resist- 
ance, nor  until  violently  smitten  with 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  There  will 
be  some  seasons  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary conflict,  when  he  will  need  pe- 
culiar succor  from  on  high ;  and 
there  will  be  other  seasons  of  com- 
parative rest ;  but  there  is  no  entire 
discharge  in  this  war  till  mortality 
is  swallowed  up  of  life  ;  and  then  he 
shall  enjoy  the  fruit  of  his  victories 
in  everlasting  rest. 

19.  Not  a  city  that  ma.de  peace — 
save  the  Hivites^  &c.  Although  in 
the  commands  given  to  Moses  re- 
specting the  extirpation  of  the  Ca- 
naanites  we  have  no  express  intima- 
tion that  any  of  them  were  to  be 
spared  upon  their  voluntary  surren- 
der and  submission,  yet  from  the  ex- 
ample of  Rahab  and  the  Gibeonites, 
and  especially  from  these  words,  the 
presumption  is,  that  this  was  the 
case.  The  Divine  laws,  wherever 
it  can  be  done  without  compromising 
the  interests  of  justice  alwa}^s  lean  to 
the  side  of  mercy.  Besides,  it  has 
been  justly  remarked,  that  the  reason 
of  the  law  is  the  law.  The  evil  de- 
signed to  be  prevented  by  the  order 
for  the  universal  destruction  of  the 
Canaanites,  was  the  infecting  of  the 
Israelites  with  their  idolatry,  Deut. 
7.  4,  But  if  these  devoted  nations 
12* 


inhabitants  of  Gibeon  :   all  other 
they  took  in  battle. 
20  For  ^'it  was  of  the  Lord  to 

1  Sam.  2.  25.     1  Kings  12. 15.     Rom.  9.  18. 

renounced  their  idolatry,  and  came 
heartily  into  the  interest  of  Israel, 
the  danger  was  effectually  prevented, 
the  reason  of  the  law  ceased,  and 
consequently,  we  may  suppose,  the 
obligation  ceased  also.  But  the  Ca- 
naanites in  general  were  not  in  the 
least  disposed  to  do  this,  nor  did  they 
so  much  as  propose  terms  of  accom- 
modation. Of  the  cause,  or  occasion 
rather,  of  this  utter  infatuation,  we 
are  informed  in  the  ensuing  verse. 

^  All  other  they  took  in  battle. 

That  is,  all  whom  they  did  take,  they 
took  in  battle.  They  received  none 
upon  submission.  It  is  certain  from 
other  parts  of  the  sacred  narrative, 
that  the  Canaanites  were  neither 
utterly  exterminated,  nor  absolutely 
driven  from  their  settlements,  either 
by  Joshua  or  his  immediate  suc- 
cessors. On  the  contrary,  a  large 
proportion  of  them  fled,  it  is  suppo.'-ed, 
to  Tyre  and  Zidon,  and  thence  mi- 
grated into  distant  countries,  particu- 
larly Africa,  where  they  established 
numerous  and  flourishing  colonies. 
Procopius  relates  that  the  Phoeni- 
cians fled  before  the  Hebrews  into 
Africa,  and  spread  themselves  abroad 
as  far  as  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and 
adds, '  In  Nurnidia,  where  now  stands 
the  city  Tigris  (Tangiers)  they  have 
erected  two  columns,  on  which,  in 
Phoenician  characters,  is  the  follow- 
ing inscription : — '•  We  are  the  Phoe- 
nicians, who  fled  from  the  face  of 
that  notorious  robber,  Jesus  (or 
Joshua)  the  son  of  Nave  (Nun)."  ' 
Numbers,  however,  yet  remained  to 
dispute,  for  ages,  the  possession  of 


138 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1450. 


harden  their  hearts,  that  they 
should  come  against  Israel  in 
battle,  that  he  might  destroy 
them  utterly,  and  that  they 
might  have  no  favor,  but  that 
he  might  destroy  them  ^  as  the 
Lord  commanded  Moses. 

21  IT  And  at  that  time   came 
Joshua  and  cut  off  ''the  Ana- 

z  Deut.  20.  16,  17. 


the  land  with  their  invaders,  and  to 
cause  them  infinite  trouble. 

20.  It  was  of  the  Lord  to  harden 
their  heai-ts.  On  the  subject  of  God's 
hardening  the  hearts  of  men,  see 
Note  on  Ex.  eh.  4. 21,  The  meaning 
here  is  simply  that  having  sinned  for 
a  long  tract  of  ages  against  the  light 
of  conscience  and  providence,  God 
was  now  pleased  to  leave  them  to  a 
judicial  hardness  of  heart,  to  give 
them  up  to  vain  confidence,  pride, 
stubbornness,  and  malignity,  that 
they  might  bring  upon  themselves 
his  righteous  vengeance  and  be  utterly 
destroyed.  This  result  is  said  to  be 
'  of  or  from  the  Lord,'  because  he  did 

not  interpose  to  prevent  it, TT  As 

the  Lord  commanded  Moses.  This 
expression  occurs  here  and  elsewhere 
in  this  connexion,  v,  15,  '  to  show 
that  Joshua  and  Israel  did  not  act  out 
of  cruelty,  revenge,  and  avarice  ;  but 
simply  in  obedience  to  God,  u-hich 
alone  could  induce  piousmen  to  make 
such  undistinguishing  slaughter  of 
their  fellow-creatures:  and  doubtless 
many  of  them  did  very  greai  vio- 
lence to  their  own  feelings  and  incli- 
nations, while  engaged  in  that  ser- 
vice.'    Scott. 

21.  At  that  time.  That  is,  during 
this  war  ;  in  the  course  of  these 
conquests.  The  words  refer  to  no 
special  point   of  time,  as  the  worlf 


kims  from  the  mountains,  from 
Hebron,  from  Debir,  from  Anab, 
and  from  all  the  mountains  of 
Judah,  and  from  all  the  moun- 
tains of  Israel :  Joshua  destroy- 
ed them  utterly  with  their  cities. 
22  There  was  none  of  the 
Anakims  left  in  the  land  of  the 


a  Num.  13.  52.  33.    Deut.  1.  28.     ch.  15. 
1.3,  M. 


was  gradually  accomplished  during 
the  lapse  of  a  considerable  period. 
Some  suppose  this  to  be  merely  a 
recapitulation  of  the  military  opera- 
tions detailed  ch.  10.  3G-41,  adding 
here  a  memorable  circumstance  there 
omitted,  viz.  the  destruc;ion  of  the 
Anakims,  with  the  rest  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  those  places.  Of  this  gigan- 
tic race,  see  on  Num.  13.  33,  Their 
cutting  off*  is  particularly  mentioned 
here,  because  they  had  been  .such  a 
terror  to  the  spies  forty  years  before, 
to  whom  their  bulk  and  strength 
made  them  appear  as  absolutely  in- 
vincible. Even  the  opposition  which 
they  feared  the  most  was  overcome. 
*  Never  let  the  sons  of  Anak  be  a 
terror  to  the  Israel  of  God,  for  even 
their  day  will  come  to  fall.  Giants 
are  dwarfs  to  Omnipotence,'  Henry, 
Though  these  Anakims  were  now 
for  the  most  part  reduced,  yet  num- 
bers of  them  escaped  and  took  refuge 
in  the  country  of  the  Philistines,  and 
settled  there,  from  whom  Goliath, 
and  other  giants,  descended.  After 
a  time  some  of  them  returned  with 
followers,  and  rebuilt  the  cities  from 
which  they  had  been  expelled  ;  and 
Caleb  and  Othniel,  to  whom  that  re- 
gion was  assigned,  vanquished  and 
destroyed  them  after  the  division  of 
the  land.  Ch.  14,  6-15  ;  15,  13-17. 
22,  So  Joshua  took  the  whole  land. 


B.  C.  1452.] 


CHAPTER   XII. 


139 


children  of  Israel :  only  in  Gaza, 
in  ^Gath,  "  and  in  Ashdod,  there 
remained. 
23  So  Joshua  took  the  whole 
land,  '^  according  to  all  that  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses,  and 
Joshua  gave  it  for  an  inheritance 
unto  Israel  ^  according  to  their 
divisions  by  their  tribes.  ^  And 
the  land  rested  from  war. 

b  1  Sam.  17.  4.     c  ch.  15.  46.    <i  Num.  34. 
2,  &c.    e  Num.  26.  53.     ch.  14,  and  15.  and 


Not  absolutely  the  whole,  for  in  ch.  | 
13.  1,  the  Lord  him.self  is  represented  I 
as  saying  to  Joshua,  '  There  remain- 
eth  yet  very  much  land  to  be  pos- 
sessed,' but  all  the  country  described 
here  and  in  the  preceding  chapter ; 
the  greatest  and  best  part  of  it. 

23.  Gave  it  for  an  inheritance  unto 
Israel.  The  actual  distributio7i  of 
the  land  is  detailed  afterwards. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

We  have  in  the  present  chapter  a 
recapitulation  of  all  the  victories  thus 
far  achieved.  As  the  writer  is  about 
to  enter  upon  a  particular  account 
of  the  distribution  of  the  land  among 
the  tribes,  he  here  pauses  to  give 
previously  a  general  view  of  the  ter- 
ritory to  be  divided,  including  the 
tracts  on  both  sides  the  Jordan.  This 
he  does  by  specifying  the  kings,  ra- 
ther than  the  countries  over  which 
they  reigned  ;  for  the  power  of  a  state 
is  concentrated  in  the  person  of  its 
sovereign,  and  such  an  enumeration 
presents  the  subject  more  vividly  to 
the  mind  of  the  reader. — The  first 
six  verses  contain  a  li.st  of  the  kings 
on  the  east  side  of  Jordan,  conquered 
by  Moses,  with  their  territories,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  chapter  is  occu- 
pied with  a  catalogue  of  those  that 


CHAPTER   XII. 

NOW  these  are  the  kings  of 
the  land,  which  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  smote,  and  pos- 
sessed their  land  on  the  other 
side  Jordan  toward  the  rising 
of  the  sun,  ""from  the  river  Ar- 
non,  ^unto  mount  Hermon,  and 
all  the  plain  on  the  east : 

16.  and  17.  and  18.  and  19.    f  ch.  14. 15,  and 
21.  44,  and  22.  4,  and  23.  1.    ver.  18. 
a  Num.  21.  24.     b  Deut.  -3.  8,  9. 

were  reduced  by  Joshua.  '  The  en- 
joyment of  present  blessings  under 
living  benefactors,  should  not  be  suf- 
fered to  efface  the  remembrance  of 
former  mercies  procured  by  the  in- 
strumentality of  God's  honored  ser- 
vants who  have  entered  into  their 
rest.  The  services  and  achieve- 
ments of  Joshua  should  not  eclipse 
tho.se  of  Moses.'  Henry.  The  pas- 
sages referred  to  in  the  margin  give 
all  the  useful  information  that  can 
now  be  gleaned  respecting  those 
places,  but  recourse  to  a  good  map 
of  ancient  Canaan  is  indispensable 
to  obtaining  a  clear  idea  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

1.  From  the  river  Arnon  unto 
Mount  Hermon.  The  small  river 
Arnon  was  the  boundary  of  all  the 
southern  coast  of  the  land  occupied 
by  the  Israelites  beyond  Jordan. 
The  mountains  of  Hermon  were  the 
boundaries  on  the  north.  The  Ar- 
non takes  its  rise  in  the  mountains 
of  Gilead,  and  after  running  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  north  to 
south,  turns  to  the  north-west  and 
falls  into  the  Dead  Sea  not  very  far 
from  the  place  ^vhere  the  Jordan 
discharges  itself.     See  Num.  21.  13; 

Deut.  2.  24. ^And  all  the  plain  on 

the  east.    Or,  even  all  the  plain ;  all 


140 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1452. 


2  "  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites, 
who  dwelt  in  Heshbon,  and 
ruled  from  Aroer,  which  is  upon 
the  bank  of  the  river  Arnon,  and 
from  the  middle  of  the  river, 
and  from  half  Gilead,  even  unto 
the  river  Jabbok,  which  is  the 
border  of  the  children  of  Amnion ; 

c  Num.  21. 24.   Deut.  2.  33,  36,  and  3.  6, 16". 


3  And  ^  from  the  plain  to  the 
sea  of  Cinnerolh  on  the  east, 
and  unto  the  sea  of  the  plain, 
even  the  salt  sea  on  the  east, 
^  the  way  to  Beth-jeshimoth ; 
and  from  the  south,  under  ^  Ash- 
doth-pisgah : 

d  Deut.  3.  17. 

17,  and  4.  49. 


e  ch.  13.  20.      f  Deut.  3. 


the  arable  champaign  country  on  the 
east  of  the  Jordan,  and  called,  Deut. 
34.  1,  '  The  plains  of  Moab.'  On  the 
physical  features  of  this  country,  see 
Note  on  Num.  3.  3. 

2.  Buled  from  Aroer.  The  king- 
dom of  Sihon  was  bounded  by  the 
Arnon  on  the  south,  the  Jabbt>k  on 
the  north,  the  Jordan  on  the  west, 
and  the  mountains  of  Arabia  on  the 

east. IT  And  from  the  middle  of  the 

river.  Heb,  ^nSH  '^im  vethok  han- 
nahal,  and  that  ichich  lies  b^ween  the 
streams.  A  line  passing  along  the 
middle  of  a  stream,  and  that  stream 
by  no  means  a  large  one,  is  so  re- 
markable a  boundary  to  be  adopted 
by  ancient  barbarous  clans,  that  we 
are  quite  satisfied  the  translation  is 
erroneous.  The  word  '  from,'  intro- 
duced by  our  translators,  does  not 
occur  in  the  original,  either  here  or 
in  the  ensuing  clause,  '  from  half 
Gilead,'  and  the  meaning  undoubted- 
ly is,  that  Sihon  ruled  from  Aroer 
over  the  country  lying  between  the 
rivers  (collect,  sing,  for  plur.)  even 
the  half  of  Gilead,  as  far  north  as  to 
the  river  Jabbok.  See  on  ch.  13.  9. 
All  the  region  lying  intermediate  be- 
tween the  above-mentioned  streams, 
and  sometimes  called  '  half  Gilead,' 
was  subject  to  his  authority.  This 
interpretation  is  strikingly  confirmed 
by  the  words  of  Josephus  relative  to 
the  territory  of  Sihon,  which,  he  says, 


*  is  a  country  situate  beticeen  three 
rivers,  and  naturally  resembling  an 
island;  the  river  Arnon  being  its 
southern  limit,  the  river  Jabbok  de- 
termining its  northern  side,  while 
Jordan  itself  runs  along  by  it  on  its 
western  coast.'  (Antiq.  B.  41,  ch.  5.) 
The  other  half  of  Gilead,  as  appears 
from  V.  4,  5,  lay  beyond  the  Jabbok, 
and  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Og. 
3.  And  from  the  plain,  &c.  Here 
again  the  word  '  from  '  is  gratuitous- 
ly, and,  as  we  conceive,  erroneously 
inserted.  The  design  of  the  writer 
is  merely  to  give  a  more  distinct  view 
of  the  po.sition  of  the  tract  called  '  the 
plain,'  which  embraced,  as  we  sup- 
pose, the  plain  of  the  Jordan  on  its 
eastern  side,  extending  from  the  sea 
of  Cinneroth  or  Gennesaret  on  the 
north  to  the  sail  or  Dead  Sea  on  the 
south.  It  is  not  implied  that  he 
reigned  to  the  sea  of  Cinneroih,  but 
that  the  plain  in  question  extended  that 
far,  the  largest  part  of  which  iel" 

into  his  dominions. IT  Sea  of  the 

plain.  The  Dead  Sea  is  so  called 
from  its  occupying  what  was  once  a 
fertile, luxuriant,  and  beautiful  plain, 
in  which  were  situated  the  cities  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  called  also 

the  'cities  of  the  plain.' MBeth-je- 

shimoth.  Si'uated  about  ten  miles 
east  of  the  Jordan,   and  about   ihe 

same  distance  from  its  mouth 

IT  From  the  south.    Or,  Heb.  '^l2'^t\lZ 


B.  C.  1452.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


141 


4  M  And  ^the  coast  of  Og 
king  of  Bashan,  which  vxis  of 
^  the  remnant  of  the  giants,  '  that 
dwelt  at  Ashtaroth  and  at  Edrei, 

5  And  reigned  in  ^  mount  Her- 
mon,  '  and  in  Salcah,  and  in  all 
Bashan,  '"  unto  the  border  of  the 
Geshurites,  and  the  Maacha- 
thites,  and  half  Gilead,  the  bor- 
der of  Sihon  king  of  Heshbon, 

6  "  Them  did  Moses  the  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord,  and  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  smite  :  and  °  Moses 
the  servant  of  the  Lord  gave  it 
for  a  possession  unto  the  Reu- 
benites,  and  the  Gadites,  and  the 
half-tribe  of  Manasseh. 

7  IT  And  these  are  the  kings  of 
the  country  ^ which  Joshua  and 

g  Numb.  21.  35.  Deut.  3.  4,  10.  h  Deut. 
3.11.  ch.  13,  12.  1  Deut.  1.4.  k  Deut.  3.8. 
1  Deut.  3.  10.  ch.  13.  11.  m  Deut.  3.  14. 
„  Numb.  21.  ai,  33.  o  Numb.  32.  29,  33. 
Deut.  3  11,  12.    ch.  13.  8.     p  ch.  11.  17. 

mitteman,  from  Teman. IT  Under 

Asfidolh-pisgah.  Seated  in  the  plain.s, 
or  rather  the  slopes  at  the  foot  of 
mount  Pisgah.  The  original  word, 
mTJit  Ashdotk,  probably  signifies 
the  low  places  at  the  foot  of  a  moun- 
tain.    Comp.  Deut.  3.  17;  4.  49. 

4.  A7id  the  coast  of  Og,  king  of  Ba- 
shan. Supply  here  from  v.  1,  And 
the  children  of  Israel  smote  and  pos- 
sessed the  coast,'  &c.  Varying  a  little 
the  phraseology  with  which  he  com- 
menced, the  writer  here  speaks  first 
of  the  country  of  the  king  of  Bashan, 
instead  of  enumerating  the  icing  him- 
self.  ^  Of  the  remnant  of  the  giants. 

.See   on    Deut.   3.    11. IT   That 

iiuell  at  Ashtaroth  and  at  Edrei. 
'Refering  to  Og,  and  not  to  the  giants. 
Probably  both  were  royal  cities,  and 
1e  resided  sometimes  in  one,  and 
jcmetimes  in  the  other.     The  reader 


the  children  of  Israel  smote  on 
this  side  Jordan  on  the  west, 
from  Baal-gad  in  the  valley  of 
Lebanon,  even  unto  the  mount 
Halak  that  goeth  up  to  "^  Seir ; 
which  Joshua  'gave  unto  the 
tribes  of  Israel  for  a  possession 
according  to  their  divisions  ; 

8  ^In  the  mountains,  and  in 
the  valleys,  and  in  the  plains, 
and  in  the  springs,  and  in  the 
wilderness,  and  in  the  south 
country  ;  'the  Hittites,  the  Am- 
orites,  and  the  Canaanites,  the 
Perizzites,  the  Hivites,  and  the 
Jebusites  : 

9  ^  "  The  king  of  Jericho,  one  ; 
''the  king  of  Ai,  which  is  beside 
Beth-el,  one  ; 


q  Gen.  14.  6.  and  32.  3.  Deut.  2  1,4.  rch. 
11.  23.  s^  ch.  10.  40,  and  11.  16.  t  Ex.  3.  8. 
and  23.  23.  ch.  9.  1.  "  ch.  6.  2.  x  ch. 
8.29. 


will  find  their  position  on  the  map, 
as  also  that  of  the  places  mentioned 
in  the  ensuing  verse. 

6.  Gave  it  for  a  possesson.  The 
word  '  it '  has  no  antecedent  express- 
ed, but  it  is  easily  referred  to  the 
whole  extent  of  country  here  spoken 
of,  which  was  taken  by  Moses  and 
given  to  the  two  tribes  and  a  half  as 
an  inheritance. 

7.  From  Baal-gad.  A  repetition 
of  what  is  mentioned,  ch.  11.  17. 

8.  In  the  momdains,  and  in  the  val- 
leys, &c.  The  meaning  probably  is, 
that  he  smote  the  nations  dwelling  in 
the  mountains,  valleys,  &c.,  even  the 
Hittites,  the  Amorites,  &c.  The 
words  convey  at  the  same  time  a 
striking  intimation  of  the  general 
features  of  the  country,  its  rich  vari- 
ety of  soils,  contributing  at  once  to 
its  fruitfulness  and  its  pleasantness. 


1^ 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1452. 


10  ^The    king   of  .Jerusalem, 
one ;  the  king  of  Hebron,  one  ; 

11  The  king  of  Jarmuth,  one  j 
the  king  of  Lachish,  one  ; 

12  The  king   of  Eglon,  one ; 
*the  king  of  Gezer,  one  ; 

13  "The  king  of  Debir,  one; 
the  king  of  Geder,  one  ; 

14  The  king  of  Hormah,  one  ; 
the  king  of  Arad,  one  ; 

15  ''The  king  of  Libnah,  one  ; 
the  king  of  Adullam,  one  ; 

16  "^The   king  of  Makkedah, 
one  ;  "^  the  king  of  Beth-el,  one  ; 

17  The  king  of  Tappuah,  one  ; 
*the  king  of  Hepher,  one  ; 

18  The   king  of  Aphek,  one  ; 
the  king  of  "^Lasharon,  one  ; 

19  The  king  of  Madon,  one  ; 
« the  king  of  Hazor,  one  ; 

y  ch.  10.  23       7,  ch.  10.  33.      a  ch.  10.  33. 
b  ch.  10.  29.    c  ch.  10.  28.   d  ch.  8.  17.    Judg. 

I.  22      el  Kings  4.  10.     f  I.sai.  33.  9.     a  ch. 

II.  10. 


20  The  king  of  ^  Shimron-me- 
ron,  one  ;  the  king  of  Achshaph, 
one  ; 

21  The  king  of  Taanach,  one  ; 
the  king  of  Megiddo,  one  ; 

22  '  The  king  of  Kedesh,  one  ; 
the  king  of  Jokneam  of  Carmel, 
one  ; 

23  The  king  of  Dor  in  the 
^  coast  of  Dor,  one  ;  the  king  of 
'  the  nations  of  Gilgal,  one  ; 

24  The  king  of  Tirzah,  one* 
all  the  kings,  thirty  and  one. 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

NOW  Joshua  ''was  old  and 
stricken  in  years  ;  and  the 
Lord  said  unto  him.  Thou  art 
old  and  stricken  in  years,  and 
there  remaineth  yet  very  much 
land  ''to  be  possessed. 

h  ch.  1] .  1.  and  19.  15.     i  ch.  19.  37.    k  ch. 


24.  All  the  kings,  thirty  and  one. 
From  the  number  of  the.se  king.s,  we 
may  learn  how  numerous  and  yet 
how  small  were  the  petty  principal- 
ities into  which  the  land  of  Canaan 
was  divided.  The  extent  of  this 
country  from  norlh  to  south  was  not 
more  than  150  miles,  and  not  more 
than  fifty  from  east  to  west.  In  like 
manner  were  nearly  all  the  different 
nations  of  the  world  divided.  The 
consequence  was  that  civil  wars  and 
border  feuds  continually  prevailed, 
making  them  an  easy  prey  to  foreign 
invaders.  Thus  history  informs  us 
that  when  Caesar  invaded  Britain 
there  were  no  less  than  four  kings  in 
the  single  county  of  Kent. 


11.  2.    1  Gen.  14.  1,  2.    Isai.  9.  1. 
10,  and  23.  1.    b  Deut.  31.  3. 


a  ch.  14. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
1.  Joshua  was  old.    In  all  proba- 
bility about  a  hundred,  as  he  employ- 


ed not  far  from  seven  years  in  the 
conquest  of  the  land,  and  is  supposed 
to  have  spent  about  one  in  dividing 
it,  and  he  died  about  ten  years  after, 
aged  one  hundred  and  ten  years,  ch. 

24.  29. IT  Stricken  in  years.    Heb, 

Q'^?3"'ID  54D  ba  bdyaviim.  coining  or 
entering  into  days.     See  Gen.  18. 11. 

^  There  remaineth  yet  very  much 

land  to  be  possessed.  Heb.  nri^*1^ 
lerishtah,  to  possess  it.  This  is  men- 
tioned to  Joshua  not  as  a  reason  for 
his  continuing  the  war,  but  for  sus- 
pending it,  though  to  the  Israelites 
the  intimation  Avould  answer  a  dif- 
ferent purpose.  They  were  admon- 
ished by  it  that  they  were  still  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  for  prosecut- 
ing the  war  in  due  time,  and  not  to 
think  of  putting  off  the  harness  as 
long  as  there  remained  any  land  to 
be  possessed.    But  as  to  Joshua,  at 


B.  C.  1445.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


143 


2  ""This  is  the  land  that  yet 
remaineth  :  '^  all  the  borders  of 
the  Philistines,  and  all '  Geshuri, 

c  Judg.  3.  1.  <i  Joel  3.  4.  e  ver.  13.  2 
Sam.  3.  3,  and  13.  37,  38. 


his  advanced  age  he  could  not  expect 
to  see  an  end  of  the  war,  and  there- 
fore it  was  expedient  that  he  should 
lay  aside  other  cares  and  make  pre- 
paration at  once  (or  dividing  the  land 
among  those  tribes  which  had  not 
yet  received  their  inheritance.  This 
work  was  to  be  done,  and  done  speed- 
ily, and  done,  moreover,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Joshua  Conse- 
quently as  he  was  now  old,  and  not 
likely  to  continue  long,  he  was  to 
lose  no  lime  in  setting  about  it.  '  All 
people,  but  especially  the  aged,  should 
set  themselves  to  do  that  quickly 
which  must  be  done  before  they  die, 
lest  death  prevent  them.  Eccl.  9. 10.' 
Hen?  y. 

2.    The   land    that   yet   remaineth. 
That  yet  remaineth  to  be  conquered. 

^\All  the  borders  of  the  Philistines. 

Lying  on  the  southern  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean.  The  Philistines  are 
no  where  else  mentioned  among  the 
devoied  nations  of  Canaan,  and  the 
reason  of  their  being  enumerated 
here  probably  is,  that  their  territories 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Canaanites, 
who  were  driven  away  and  supplant- 
ed by  them,  Deut.  2.  23.  Viewed  in 
this  light,  therefore,  as  being  original- 
ly and  legitimately  the  country  of 
the  Canaanites,  the  possessions  of  the 
Philistines  were  appointed  to  come 

into  the  hands  of  Israel. ^And  all 

Geshuri.  There  were  two  places  of 
this  name.  The  one  probably  in- 
tended here  was  situated  in  the  half 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  on  the  east  of  Jor- 
dan, and  in  the  north-eastern  quarter 
of  the  promised  land.    As  the  Geshu- 


3  '^From  Sihor,  which  is  be- 
fore Egypt,  even  unto  the  bor- 
ders of  Ekron  northward,  which 


f  Jer.  2.  18. 


rites  were  not  extirpated  by  the  Isra- 
elites they  continued  even  in  the 
time  of  Absalom  to  be  governed  by 
their  own  princes,  one  of  whom,  Tal- 
mai,  had  a  daughter  married  to  Da- 
vid, 2  Sam.  13.  37. 

3.  Sihor.  In  all  probability  a  name 
of  the  river  Nile.  Heb.  ^irPZi  Shi- 
hor.  The  word  in  the  original  has 
the  import  oi  black,  and  is  applied  to 
the  Nile  from  its  color  when  it  brings 
down  the  slime  and  mud  by  which 
Egypt  is  rendered  fertile.  Hence  it 
implies  the  black,  muddy,  or  turbid 
river.  The  Greeks  give  to  the  Nile 
the  name  of  fxiXas  black,  and  the 
Latins  occasionally  called  it  Melo 
(Serv.  ad  Virg.  Geor.  4.  291).  It  was 
called  Siris  by  the  Ethiopians,  the 
affinity  of  which  with  Sihor  is  obvi- 
ous. The  version  of  Jerome  renders 
the  present  passage,  '  From  the  turbid 
river  which  irrigates  Egypt,'  and 
'  the  seed  of  Sihor,'  Is.  23,  3,  it  also 
renders  '  the  seed  of  Nilus.'  It  is  not 
to  be  denied  that  there  are  peculiar 
difhcullies  in  making  the  Nile  the 
southern  boundary  of  Canaan,  as  the 
promised  possession  of  the  Israelites, 
but  the  difficulties  in  any  other  view 

are  in  our  opinion  still  greater. 

U  Unto  the  borders  of  Ekron.  One  of 
the  five  lordships — Gaza,  Ashdod, 
Askalon,  Gath,  and  Ekron— he\on^- 
ing  to  the  Philistines,  and  the  most 
northern  of  all  the  districts  they  pos- 
sessed, its  territory  being  the  border 
of  the  land  of  Judah.  The  city  of 
Ekron  was  situated  about  thirty-four 
miles  west  of  Jerusalem,  ten  miles 
north-east  of  Ashdod,    nine    miles 


144 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1445. 


is  counted  to  the  Canaanite : 
^  five  lords  of  the  Philistines  ; 
the  Gazathites,  and  the  Ashdo- 
thites,  the  Eshkalonites,  the 
Gittites,  and  the  Ekronites ; 
also  'the  Av^tes : 

4  From  the  south  all  the  land 
of  the  Canaanites,  and  Mearah 

B  Judg.  3.  3.     1  Sam.  6.  4.  16.    Zeph.  2. 
5.     h  Deut.  2.  23. 


west  by  north  of  Gath,  and  ten  miles 
east  of  the  shore  of  the  Mediterrane- 
an. It  is  particularly  mentioned  in 
Scripture  as  the  seat  of  the  idolatrous 
worship  of  Baalzebub,  or  the  '  Lord 
of  flies,'  2  Kings  1.  2,  but  the  Divine 
prediction  against  it,  that  '  Ekron 
should  be  rooted  up,'  Zeph.  2.  4,  has 
long  since  been  accomplished,  not 
even  a  .single  ruin  of  it  remaining  to 
mark  the  place  where  it  stood.  Am. 
1.  8. IT  Which  is  counted  to  the  Ca- 
naanites. Because  the  original  pos- 
sessors of  this  country  were  the  de- 
scendants of  Canaan,  the  youngest 
son  of  Ham.  The  Philistines  sprung 
from  Misraim,  the  second  son  of 
Ham,  and  having  dispossessed  the 
Avites,  or  Avim,  from  the  places 
they  held  in  this  land,  dwelt  in  their 

stead.    See  Gen.  10.  13, 14. ^rire 

lords.  Petty  princes.  The  term  is 
put  for  the  lordships  themselves,  just 
as  king  is  often  used  for  kingdom. 
The  original  tt^^^'D  sarnaim, princes, 
literally  signifies  axles;  and  so  the 
Arab,  for  chief  magistrate  is  Katbini, 
axis ;  because  public  affairs  and  the 
people  did,  as  it  were,  revolve  round 
and  depend  upon  him,  as  the  parts 
of  a  wheel  upon  its  axis.     See  Note 

on   ch.   9.   4. IT  Also   the   Avites. 

The  remnant  of  the  tribe  or  clan  of 
the  A  vims  said  in  Deut.  2.  23,  to  have 
been  expelled  by  the  Caphthorim. 


that  is  beside  the  Sidonians, 
'unto  Aphek  to  the  borders  of 
^  the  Amorites  : 

5  And  the  land  of  '^  the  Gib- 
lites,  and  all  Lebanon  toward 
the  sun-rising,  'from  Baal-Gad 
under  mount  Hermon  unto  the 
entering  into  Hamath. 

i  ch.  19.  30.  j  See  Judg.  1.  34.  k  1  Kings 
5.  IS.    Ps.  83.  7.    Ezek.  27.  9.    i  ch.  12  7. 


The  scattered  relics  of  this  people 
remained  mixed  up  with  the  five  Phi- 
listine lordships  above-mentioned. 

4.  From  the  south,  &e.  The  whole 
maritime  country  from  the  southern 
limits  here  mentioned,  as  far  north 
as  to  Sidon  and  some  of  the  Amorit- 
ish  possessions  in  that  quarter,  is 
hereby  made  over  in  promise  to  Is- 
rael. Joshua  himself  does  not  appear 
to  have  made  any  conquests  on  the 
sea-coast. — '^Mearah.  Or,  Heb.  'the 
cave;'  by  which  Le  Clerc  under- 
stands the  mountainous  tract  of 
Upper  Galilee,  sometimes  called 
the  cave- country  of  the  Sidonians, 
abounding  in  caves  and  fastnesses, 
which  served  as  sheltering  places  in 
time  of  war,  and  as  asylums  also  for 
roving  bands  of  marauders.  Jose- 
phus  often  speaks  of  such  places  in 
the  bounds  of  the  Holy  Land ;  and  the 
Maronite  monks  of  Canobin  assured 
M.  de  la  Roque,  that  among  the 
mountains  between  which  the  river 
Kadisha  rims,  there  were  not  less 
than  eight  hundred  caves  or  grottos. 
Others  suppose  it  to  have  been  a 
single  large  and  remarkable  cave  be- 
tween Sarepta  and  Sidon,  described 
by  William,  Bishop  of  Tyre.  This, 
however,  is  less  likely. 

5.  The  land  of  the  Giblites.  The 
name  of  a  people  dwelling  in  Gebal, 
near  Sidon.    1  King  5. 18 ;  Ezek.  27. 


B,  C.  1445.] 


CHAPTER   XJTI 


145 


6  All  the  inhabitants  of  the 
hWl-country  from  Lebanon  unto 
•"Misrephoth-maira,  and  all  the 
Sidonians,  them    "will  I  drive 


m  ch.  11.  8. 
21,  23. 


u  See  ch.  23.  13.    Judg. 


9.  Their  land  was  not  given  to  the 
israe]ites,  because  it  lay  without  the 
precincts  of  Canaan.  From  among 
this  people,  Solomon  employed  a 
number  of  artists  in  the  erection  of 
the  temple,  1  Kings  5.  18.  They 
were  also  famed  for  ship-building, 
Ezek.  27.  9.  It  is  supposed  by  many 
that  the  modern  Bybliis  is  the  same 
as  the  ancient  Gebal.  They  were 
•certainly  situated  in  the  same  re- 
gion. 

6.  Them  loill  I  drive  out.  The 
original  is  emphatic ;  '  It  is  /  that 
will  do  it ;  I  who  have  all  power,  and 
am  ever  faithful ;  I  who  have  prom- 
ised, and  can  and  will  perform.' 
Chal.  '  I  will  do  it  by  my  Word  ;'  i.  e. 
by  my  eternal  Word,  the  Captain  of 
the  Lord's  hosts.  This,  however, 
like  other  similar  declarations,  is  to 
be  understood  cunditionaUy.  God 
never  promised  to  put  them  in  pos- 
session of  the  whole  land,  but  upon 
condition  of  their  Jiddity  to  him.  If 
they  failed  in  obedience,  they  would 
fail  in  becoming  masters  of  the  coun- 
try. Accordingly  we  find  that  they 
never  did  actually  possess  the  whole 
land  here  assigned  to  them.  The 
Sidonians  were  never  expelled  by  the 
Israelites,  and  were  only  brought 
into  a  state  of  comparative  subjection 
in  the  days  of  David  and  Solomon. 
Joshua,  however,  notwithstanding 
the  cavils  of  infidels,  actually  did  aV. 
that  it  was  promised  he  should  do. 
God  never  said  that  he  should  co/i- 
quer  all  the  land,  but  simply  that  he 
13 


out  from  before  the  children  of 
Israel :  only  °  divide  thou  it  by- 
lot  unto  the  Israelites  for  an  in- 
heritance, as  I  have  commanded 
thee 

o  ch.  M.  1,  2. 


should  bring  Israel  into  it,  and  divide 
it  among  them,  both  which  he  did, 
and  procured  them  footing  by  his 
conquests  sufficient  to  have  enabled 
them  to  establish  themselves  in  it  for 
ever.  Their  failure  to  do  so  was 
owing  wholly  to  themselves.  So  we 
must  work  out  our  salvation,  de- 
pending upon  God  to  work  in  us,  and 
to  work  with  us.  We  must  resist  our 
spiritual  enemies,  and  look  to  God  to 

trample    them  under   our  feet. 

^  Only  divide  thou  it  by  lot.  Heb. 
n^'^Sn  happileyo^h,  cast  it,  cause  it  t^ 
fall.  See  Note  on  Gen.  25.  18.  A 
phra-seology  derived  from  the  casting 
of  the  lots  by  which  its  distribution 
was  governed.  Joshua,  no  doubt, 
supposed  that  the  land  was  first  to  be 
conquered,  before  it  was  divided,  but 
here  his  mistake  is  corrected.  The 
great  Proprietor  would  have  his  peo- 
ple consider  the  country  as  even  now 
theirs,  and  as  a  pledge  of  his  purpose 
to  give  it  them,  directs  that  without 
further  delay  it  be  forthwith  appor- 
tioned out  among  the  tribes.  This 
order  would  not  only  strengthen  their 
assurance  of  the  final  possession  of 
the  land,  but  serve  also  as  an  incen- 
tive to  prosecute  the  work  of  con- 
quest with  fresh  vigor,  and  to  keep 
themselves  from  all  leagues,  and 
every  kind  of  entangling  connexion 
which  might  obstruct  the  attainment 
of  their  ultimate  object.  So  the  ex- 
ercise of  a  lively  faith  puts  the  Chris- 
tian even  now  in  possession  of  the 
heavenly  Canaan,  the  land  of  his 


146 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1445. 


7  Now  therefore  divide  this 
land  for  an  inheritance  unto  the 
nine  tribes,  and  the  half-tribe 
of  Manasseh, 

8  With  whom  the  Reubenites 
and  the  Gadites  have  received 
their  inheritance,  p  M'hich  Moses 
gave  them,  beyond  Jordan  east- 
ward, even  as  Moses  the  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  gave  them  ; 

P  Num.  32.  33.    Deut.  3.  12,  13.    ch.  22.  4. 

eternal  inheritance.     Of  all  such  it 
may  be  truly  said  ; — 

'  They  view  the  tiiumph  fjom  afar, 
And  seize  it  with  their  eye.' 
8.  Wit/i  whom.  Heb.  112^  iinmo, 
with  him,  i.  e.  with  the  other  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  who  were  to  have 
no  part  in  Canaan  proper,  as  their 
inheritance  had  already  fallen  to 
them,  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan. 
The  relative  is  put  for  an  antecedent, 
which  is  to  be  supplied  from  the  gen- 
eral tenor  of  the  narrative,  as  in 
Num.  7.  89;  Ps.  114.  2;  Is.  8.  21; 
Jer.  1.  3.  The  speaker  here  and 
henceforward  is  not  God,  whose 
words  terminate  with  v.  7,  but  the 
historian,  who  takes  occasion  to  re- 
hearse the  allotment  made  by  Moses 
to  the  two  tribes  and  a  half  on  the 
other  side  Jordan,  in  order  that  the 
reader  might  understand  the  reason 
why  nothing  is  said  of  them  in  the 
distribution  now  to  be  made  by  Josh- 
ua, but  the  whole  land  on  this  side 
the  liver  is  ordered  to  be  given  to  the 
nine  tribes  and  a  half  The  other 
two  and  a  half  had  been  already  pro- 
vided for;  and  the  restatement  of  the 
fact  here,  in  the  formal  record  of  the 
division  of  the  land,  would  serve  to 
ratify,  in  the  strongest  manner,  the 
grant  formerly  made  by  Moses.  As 
he  had  settled  the  affair,  so  Joshua 


j    9  From  Aroer  that  is  upon  the 

I  bank  of  the   river  Arnon,  and 

the  city  that  is  in  the  midst  of 

the  river,  ''and  all  the  plain  of 

Medeba  unto  Dibon  ; 

10  And  '  all  the  cities  of  Sihon 
king  of  the  Amorites,  which 
reigned  in  Heshbon,  unto  the 
border  of  the  children  of  Am- 
mon  ; 

q  ver.  16.   Num.  21.  30.    r  Num.  21. 24, 25. 


would  leave  it.  He  would  not  alter 
what  Moses  had  done,  and  the  reason 
why  he  would  not,  is  intimated  in 
the  fact  that  Moses  was  '  the  servant 
of  the  Lord,'  faithful  in  all  his  house, 
and  acting  in  this  matter  by  a  secret 
direction  from  him. 

9.  The  city  that  is  in  (he  midst  of 
the  river.  For  the  true  meaning  of 
the  expression,  '  in  the  midst  of  the 
river,'  see  Note  on  ch.  12.  2.  Judg- 
ing from  the  reports  of  travellers, 
we  see  no  reason  to  believe  that  such 
an  inconsiderable  stream  as  Arnon, 
a  mere  rivulet,  contained  an  island 
large  enough  for  the  site  of  a  city. 
These  verses,  from  v.  9  to  14,  com- 
prise a  general  description  of  the 
whole  countrij  given  to  the  two  tribes 
and  a  h&li".  The  remainder  of  the 
chapter  is  occupied  with  a  detailed 
account  of  the  several  districts  allot- 
ted to  each.  Here,  in  v.  9,  taking 
'  city '  and  '  river,'  according  to  the 
common  Heb  idiom,  as  the  collect, 
sing,  for  the  plur ,  we  conceive  the 
writer's  drift  is  to  say,  '  that  begin- 
nmg  at  Aroer,  Moses  gave  t-o  the 
two  tribes  and  a  half  all  the  cities 
lying  betir.ecn  the  several  riv.rs  men- 
tioned ch.  12.  1,  2,  together  with  all 
the  plain  or  champagne  country  of 
Medeba,  even  to  Dibpn.  These,  in 
)  e  next  verse,  are  called  the  cities 


B.  C.  1445.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


147 


11  'And  Gilead,  and  the  bor- 
der of  the  Geshurites  and  Ma- 
achathites,  and  all  mount  Her- 
mon,  and  all  Bashan  unto  Sal- 
cah  ; 

12  All  the  kingdom  of  Og  in 
Bashan,  which  reigned  in  Ash- 
taroth  and  in  Edrei,  who  re- 
mained of  '  the  remnant  of  the 
giants.  "  For  these  did  Moses 
smite,  and  cast  them  out. 

13  Nevertheless,  the  children 

s  ch.  12.  5.  t  Dent.  3.  11.  c!i.  12.  4. 
u  Numb.  21.  24,  35. 

of  Sihon,  because  they  lay  within  his 
territories. 

13.  The  children  of  Israel  expelled 
not  the  Geskurites  &c.  Spoken  ap- 
parently by  way  of  reflection  upon 
the  Israelites  who  succeeded  Mcses, 
for  their  remi.ssness  in  driving  out 
thes-e  nations.  The  failure  of  Mo- 
ses to  make  a  clean  riddance  of 
them  at  his  fir.-5t  conquest,  might  be 
entirely  excusable,  as  he  was  intent 
upon  reaching  Canaan,  and  could  not 
v.ell  subject  himself  to  the  delay  ne- 
cessary for  their  complete  extermi- 
nation. But  this  plea  would  not  hold 
after  Canaan  was  entered.  The 
tribes  ought  to  have  gone  forward  at 
once  and  finished  the  work  which 
Moses  had  begun.  Instead  of  this, 
it  is  related,  to  their  disgrace,  that 
they  still  suffered  these  people  to 
dwell  among  them  down  to  the  time 
M'hen  this  history  was  written.  The 
spirit  of  inspiration  discovers,  if  we 
may  so  .speak,  a  wonderful  tact,  both 
in  administering  censure  and  bestow- 
ing praise.  Instances  of  both,  man- 
aged with  the  most  consummate  skill, 
abound  in  the  compass  of  the  sacred 
scriptures. 

14.  [Jnto  the  tribe  of  Levi  he  srave 


of  Israel  expelled  ^  not  the 
Geshurites,  nor  the  Maacha- 
thites  :  hut  the  Geshurites  and 
the  Maachathites  dwell  among 
the  Israelites  unto  this  day. 

14  J' Only  unto  the  tribe  of  Le- 
vi he  gave  none  inheritance ; 
the  sacrifices  of  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel  made  by  fire  are  their 
inheritance,  ^as  he  said  unto 
them. 

15  TT  And  Moses  gave  unto  the 

xver.  11.  y  Numb.  18.  20,23,24.  ch.  14. 
3,  4.     X  ver.  33. 


710   inheritance.      See   on  Num.  18, 

20-24. IT  The  sacrifices  made   by 

Jlre.  The  term  is  to  be  understood 
in  a  large  sense,  including  not  only 
all  the  oblations  of  which  any  part 
was  burnt,  but  also  the  first  fruits  and 
tithes  assigned  to  the  Levites  for  their 
support.  This  is  repeated  again  v. 
43,  to  intimate  that  the  Leviles  had 
as  good  a  title  to  their  tithes  and  per- 
quisites, as  the  rest  of  their  brethren 
had  to  their  e.states,  and  also  to  en- 
join upon  the  tribes  a  cheerful  and 
conscientious  compliance  with  the 
will  of  God  in  this  respect.  With- 
holding their  dues  from  the  Levites 
he  considered  as  no  le.ss  than  actually 
robbing  himself 

15.  Moses  gave  unto  the  tribe  of  the 
children  of  Reuben.  The  writer  now 
enters  upon  a  minute  specification 
of  the  portions  assigned  by  lot  to  the 
tribes  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half 
tribe  of  Manasseh.  This  is  very  ful 
ly  and  exactly  detailed.  On  this 
mode  of  assigning  to  the  children 
their  inheritances,  and  on  this  ac- 
count of  it,  it  may  be  remarked,  (1) 
That  it  was  the  most  equitable  and 
satisfactory  method  that  could  be 
adopted.     Had  the  distribution  been 


148 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1445. 


tribe  of  the  children  of  Reuben 
inheritance  according  to  their 
families. 

16  And  their  coast  was  ^from 
Aroer  that  is  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  Arnon,  ^and  the  city  that 
is  in  the  midst  of  the  river, 
•^  and  all  the  plain  by  Medeba  : 

17  Heshbon,  and  all  her  cities 
that  are  in  the  plain  ;  Dibon,  and 
'^  Bamoth-baal,  and  Beth-baal- 
meon, 

18  *  And  Jahaza,  and  Kede- 
moth,  and  Mephaath, 

a  ch.  12.  2.  b  Numb.  21.  28.  c  Numb. 
21.  30.  ver.  9.  d  Numb.  32.  38.  e  Numb. 
21.23. 

made  by  arbitrary  appointment,  as  all 
could  not  receive  portions  equally 
good,  some  would  probably  have 
complained  that  their  brethren  were 
better  dealt  by  than  themselves.  Di- 
viding the  land  by  lot,  therefore,  by 
cutting  off  all  pretence  for  the  charge 
of  favoritism  on  the  part  of  Moses, 
was  the  readiest  way  of  satisfying  all 
parlies,  and  preventing  discontent  and 
discord.  (2)  The  several  allotments 
are  here  very  minutely  detailed  in 
order  that  litigation  growing  out  of 
disputed  boundaries  might  ever  after 
be  prevented.  When  the  limits  of 
each  tribe  were  so  clearly  settled, 
there  could  be  little  room  for  contend- 
ing claims,  or  if  there  were,  an  au- 
thentic register  of  the  lot  of  each 
tribe  would  be  at  hand  to  be  appealed 
to  for  a  decision,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  it  w^as  often  made  use  of  in  after 
ages  for  this  purpose.  We  cannot 
but  learn  from  this  the  great  impor- 
tance of  devising  every  prudent  me- 
thod to  prevent  litigations  about  pro- 
perty. (3)  The  reading  of  this  account 
by    succeeding    generations    would 


19  ^  And  Kirjathaim,  and  ^  Sib- 
mah,  and  Zareth-shahar  in  the 
mount  of  the  valley, 

20  And  Beth-peor,  and  ^  Ash- 
doth-pisgah,and  Beth-jeshimoth, 

21  'And  all  the  cities  of  the 
plain,  and  all  the  kingdom  of 
Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites 
which  reigned  in  Heshbon, 
hvhom  Moses  smote  ''with  the 
princes  of  Midian,  Evi,  and  Re- 
kem,  and  Zur,  and  Hur,  and 
Reba,  ivhich  were  dukes  of  Si- 
hon, dwelling  in  the  country. 

f  Numb.  32.  37.  g  Numb.  32.  38.  h  Deut 
3.  17.  ch.  12.  3.  i  Deut.  3.  10.  j  Numb. 
21.24.     k  Numb.  31.8. 


tend  to  excite  a  very  deep  and  lively 
impression  of  the  goodness  of  God 
in  bestowing  upon  their  ancestors, 
for  the  benefit  of  their  posterity,  such 
a  large  and  fertile  country,  an  inher- 
itance so  replete  with  all  the  worldly 
blessings  which  heart  could  wish. 
'  God's  grants  look  best,  when  we  de- 
scend to  the  particulars.'  Henry. 

IT  According  to  their  families.  As 
every  tribe  had  its  inheritance  divid- 
ed by  lot ;  so  it  is  probable,  that  af- 
terwards the  subdivisions  to  every 
family  and  each  individual  were 
regulated  in  the  same  manner.  Thus 
their  estates  would  descend  to  poster- 
ity, not  so  much  as  the  inheritance 
of  their  fathers,  as  that  which  the 
Lord  had  immediately  assigned  them. 
They  could  thus  say,  with  the  Psalm- 
ist, Ps.  16.  5,  6,  '  The  Lord  is  the 
portion  of  mine  inheritance  and  of  my 
cup  :  thou  maintainest  my  lot.  The 
lines  are  fallen  unto  me  in  pleasant 
places  ;  I  have  a  goodly  heritage.' 

21.  Dukes  of  Sihon.  Probably  so 
called  because  they  had  been  his  tri- 
butaries, subject  to  his  jurisdiction. 


B.  C.  1445.] 


CHAPTER  Xlll. 


149 


22  IT  'Balaam  also  the  son  of 
Beor,  the  soothsayer,  did  the 
children  of  Israel  slay  with  the 
sword,  among  them  that  were 
slain  by  them. 

23  Ajid  the  border  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Reuben  was  Jordan, 
and  the  border  thereof.  This 
was  the  inheritance  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Reuben,  after  their  fam- 
ilies, the  cities  and  the  villages 
thereof. 

24  And  Moses  gave  inherit- 
ance unto  the  tribe  of  Gad,  even 
unto  the  children  of  Gad  accord- 
ing to  their  families. 

25  ™And  their  coast  was  Ja- 
zer,  and  all  the  cities  of  Gilead, 
"and  half  the  land  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Ammon,  unto  Aroer  that 
is  before  "Rabbah  ; 

26  And  from  Heshbon  unto 
Ramath-mizpeh,  and  Betonim  ; 
and  from  Mahanaim  unto  the 
border  of  Debir  ; 

27  And  in  the  valley,  ^Beth- 
aram,  and  Beth-nimrah,  "land 
Succoth,  and  Zaphon,  the  rest 
of  the  kingdom  of  Sihon  king 
of  Heshbon,  Jordan  and  his  bor- 

I  Num.  22.  5,  and  31.  8.  «i  Num.  32.  25. 
n  Compare  Num.  21.26,  28,  29,  with  Deut. 
2.  19,  and  Judg.  11.  13,  15,  &c.  o  2  Sam.  11. 
1,  and  12.  26.  p  Num.  32.  36.  q  Gen.  -33.  17. 
:  Kings  7.  46. 


They  are  indeed  called  '  kings  of 
Midian'  in  Num  31.  8, but  by  '  kings' 
in  the  sacred  writings  we  are  often 
to  understand  no  more  than  mere  pet- 
ty chieftains,  who  might  be  at  the 
same  time  subject  to  some  more  po- 
tent sovereign.     See  Gen,  14.  1,  2. 

22.  Balaam  also — did  the  children 
of  Israel  slay.     He  Ml  with    those 
who  instigated  him  to  his  wicked- 
ness.     '  This  was  recorded  before, 
13* 


der,  even  unto  the  edge  ""of  the 
sea  of  Cinnereth,  on  the  other 
side  Jordan  eastward. 

28  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  children  of  Gad  after  their 
families,  the  cities,  and  their 
villages. 

29  TT  And  Moses  gave  inherit- 
ance  unto  the  half-tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh  :  and  this  was  the  posses- 
sion of  the  half-tribe  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Manasseh  by  their  fam- 
ilies. 

30  And  their  coast  was  from 
Mahanaim,  all  Bashan,  all  the 
kingdom  of  Og  king  of  Bashan, 
and  '  all  the  towns  of  Jair,  which 
are  in  Bashan,  threescore  cities  : 

31  And  half  Gilead,  and  ^  Ash- 
taroth,  and  Edrei,  cities  of  the 
kingdom  of  Og  in  Bashan,  were 
pertaining  unto  the  children  of 
Machir  the  son  of  Manasseh, 
even  to  the  one  half  of  the  "  chil- 
dren of  Machir  by  their  families. 

32  These  are  the  countries 
which  Moses  did  distribute  for 
inheritance  in  the  plains  of  Mo- 
ab,  on  the  other  side  Jordan  by 
Jericho  eastward. 

33  ""  But  unto  the  tribe  of  Levi, 

r  Num.  34.  11.  s  Num.  32.  41.  1  Chron. 
2.  23.  t  ch.  12.  4.  u  Num.  32.  39,  40.  x  ver. 
14.     ch.  18.  7. 

Num.  31.  8,  but  is  repeated  here,  be- 
cause the  defeating  of  Balaam's  pur- 
pose to  curse  Israel  was  the  turning 
of  that  curse  into  a  blessing,  and  was 
such  an  instance  of  the  power  and 
goodness  of  God  as  was  fit  to  be  had 
in  everlasting  remembrance.'  Henry^ 
Divine  justice  knows  well  how  to 
put  the  brand  of  perpetual  infamy 
upon  those  who  sin,  like  Balaam, 
against  light  and  knowledge. 


150 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


Moses  gave  not  any  inheritance  : 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel  icas 
their  inheritance,  ^  as  he  said  un- 
to them. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

AND  these  are  the  countries 
which  the  children  of  Israel 
inherited  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
''which  Eleazar  the  priest,  and 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  and  the 
heads  of  the  fathers  of  the  tribes 
of  the  children  of  Israel  distri- 
buted for  inheritance  to  them. 

V  Num  18.  20.      Deut.  10.  9,  and  13.  1.  2. 
»  Num.  34.  16, 18. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

1.  These  are  the  countries,  &c.  The 
historian  having,  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  given  an  account  of  the  dis- 
posal of  the  countries  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan,  comes  now  to  state 
the  allotments  made  to  the  remaining 
nine  tribes  and  a  half  in  the  bounds 
of  Canaan  proper.  The  directions 
which  Moses  had  formerly  giv^en. 
Num.  36.  53-56,  respecting  the  mode 
of  making  this  distribution,  are  now 
lo  be  punctually  observed.  Previous- 
ly to  entering  upon  the  account  of 
this  division,  the  writer  premises  two 
or  three  things  which  fall  in  here 
more  properly  than  any  where  else, 
as  that  the  Levites  were  not  compre- 
hended in  the  grant  made  to  the 
tribes ;  that  the  tribe  of  Joseph  was 
reckoned  as  two ;  and  that  Caleb  had 
given  to  him  at  his  request  a  certain 
tract  of  country  which  had  been  be- 
fore promised  by  Moses. IT  The 

heads  of  the  fathers  of  the  tribes.  That 
is,  heads  or  chief  men  among  the 
fathers  of  the  tribes.  These  were 
twelve  in  number,  including  Joshua 
and  Eleazar.     They  had  been  before 


2  ^By  lot  was  their  inheritance, 
as  the  Lord  commanded  by  the 
hand  of  Moses,  for  the  nine 
tribes,  and /or  the  half-tribe. 

3  "For  Moses  had  given  the 
inheritance  of  two  tribes  and  an 
half-tribe  on  the  other  side  Jor- 
dan :  but  unto  the  Levites  he 
gave  none  inheritance  among 
them. 

4  For  '4he  children  of  Joseph 
were  two  tribes,  Manasseh  and 
Ephraim  :  therefore  they  gave 
no  part  unto  the  Levites  in  the 

k  Num.  26.  35,  and 33.  54,  and  -34.  13.  c  ch. 
13.  8,  32,  as.    d  Gen.  48.  5.     1  Chron.  5.  1,  2. 

expressly  appointed  by  Moses,  Num. 
34.  19.  This  was  done  that  every 
tribe,  having  a  representative  of  its 
own,  might  be  satisfied  that  there 
was  fair  dealing,  and  might  conse- 
quently abide  more  contentedly  by 
its  lot. 

2.  By  lot  was  their  inheritance. 
This  distribution  by  lot  was  overrul- 
ed by  a  special  providence,  so  as  to 
correspond  with  the  inspired  predic- 
tions of  Jacob  and  Moses,  respecting 
the  allotment  of  each  tribe.  The  fact 
is  very  remarkable,  yet  unquestiona- 
ble, that  the  tribes  found  themselves 
placed  by  lot  in  the  very  sections  of 
the  country,  which  Jacob  had  fore- 
told two  hundred  and  fifty  years  be- 
fore, and  Moses  shortly  before  his 
death.  Comp.  Gen.  49,  and  Deut. 
33.  To  Judah  fell  a  countr}^  abound- 
ing io  vineyards  and  pastures ;  to 
Zebulon,  sea-coasts ;  to  Issachar,  a 
rich  plain  between  ranges  of  moun- 
tains;  to  Asher,  one  abounding  in 
plenty  of  oil,  u-heat.  and  metals  ;  and 
so  of  the  Others.  See  Ma.sins  and 
Calmet  for  more  particular  details. 
4.   The  children  of  Joseph  were  two 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


151 


land,  save  cities  to  dwell  wi, 
with  their  suburbs  for  their  cat- 
tle, and  for  their  substance, 

5  "As  the  Lord  commanded 
Mosej,  so  the  children  of  Israel 
did,  and  they  divided  the  land. 

6  ir  Then  the  children  of  Ju- 
dah  came  unto  Joshua  in  Gil- 

e  Num.  35.  2.    ch.  21.  2. 


tribes.  That  is,  had  a  double  portion 
or  the  ponion  of  two  tribes.  By  Jo- 
seph's being  reckoned  two  tribes,  the 
naaoD  was  made  to  consist  of  twelve 
tribes,  though  Levi  was  excluded. 

5.  Ani  Ihey  divided  the  land,.  They 
entered  upon  the  business  of  dividing 
it;  they  took  the  preliminary  meas- 
ures; they  cun.sulted  together  and 
settled  the  manner  in  which  it  should 
be  done,  i  he  actiuil  dividing  took 
place  afterwards.  The  Scriptures 
ofien  speak  o^  that  as  dom,  which  is 
merely  begun  or  resolved  upon.  It 
must  have  required  a  considerable 
time  to  make  all  the  geographical 
arrangements  necessary  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

6.  Then  the  children  of  Judahcame. 
'■  Then  ' — while  they  were  at  Gilgal, 
preparing  to  make  the  division^which 
it  seems  was  finished  at  Shilo,  ch. 
18.  I.  The  thread  of  the  narrative 
is  again  interrupted  to  introduce  the 
digres.-sion  concerning  the  allotment 
of  Caleb.  The  children  of  Judah, 
that  is,  probably,  the  heads  and  chief 
men,  accompanied  Caleb,  who  be- 
longed to  the  same  tribe,  in  order  to 
testify  their  consent  to  the  measure, 
and  to  aid  and  countenance  him  in 
obtaining  the  object  of  his  request. 
As  Caleb  was  one  of  the  twelve 
whom  God  had  chosen  to  superin- 
tend the  partition  of  the  land,  Num. 
34.  12,  it  might  seem,  if  he  came  un- 


gal :  and  Ca'eb  the  son  of  Je- 
phunneh  the  '  Kenezite  said  unto 
him,  Thou  knowest  ^the  thing 
that  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses 
the  man  of  God  concerning  me 
and  thee  ''in  Kadesh-barnea. 
7  Forty  years  old  y:as  I  when 

1  Num.  S2.  12,  and  ch.  15.  17.     r  Num. 
14.  24.  30.    Deut.  1.  36.  38.    h  Num.  13.  26. 


attended,  that  he  designed  to  take 
advantage  of  his  authority  as  a  com- 
missioner to  promote  his  private  in- 
terest ;  he  therefore  takes  his  breth- 
ren along  with  him  to  preclude  any 
such  imputation.  Some  suppose  that 
this  transaction  took  place  previous 
to  the  siege  and  capture  of  Hebron, 
related  ch.  10.  36, 37,  and  that  the  ex- 
pedition detailed  in  its  minute  partic- 
ulars, in  ch.  15. 13-15,  is  there  barely 
touched  upon,  or  described  in  the 
most  general  manner.  The  fact, 
however,  that  the  application  of  Ca- 
leb was  made  to  Joshua  at  Gilgal, 
and  not  while  he  was  pursuing  his 
conquests  over  the  south  of  Canaan, 
seems  decisive  against  this  opinion. 

IT  Tkoii  knou-est   ike  thing,  «fec. 

Caleb  probably  alludes  to  what  is 
said  Num.  14.  24,  '  But  my  servant 
Caleb  him  will  I  bring  into  the  land 
wherein  to  he  went  ;  and  his  seed 
shall  possess  it.'  Deut.  1. 36,  '  Caleb 
the  son  of  Jephunneh,  to  him  will  I 
give  the  land  that  he  hath  trodden 
upon,  and  to  his  children,  because 
he  hath  wholly  followed  the  Lord.' 
This  seems  to  be  spoken,  not  of  the 
land  of  promise  in  general,  but  of 
some  particular  district  to  w^hich  he 
had  p  -nt  trated  when  sent  out  by  Mo- 
ses. This,  undoubtedly,  was  Hebron, 
Num.  13.  22,  and  was  so  understood 
by  all  parties  at  the  time.  The  prom- 
ise then  made  by  God  to  Moses  he 


152 


JOSHUA. 


fB.  C.  1444, 


Moses  the  servant  of  the  Lord 
'sent  me  from  Kadesh-barnea  to 
espy  out  the  land  ;  and  I  brought 
him  word  again  as  it  was  in 
mine  heart. 

8  Nevertheless,  ''my  brethren 
that  went  up  with  me  made  the 
heart  of  the  people  melt :  but  I 
wholly  'followed  the  Lord  my 
God. 

i  Num.  13.  6,  and  14.  6.  k  Num.  13.  31, 
32.  Deut.  1.  28.  I  Num.  14.  24..  Deut. 
1.  36. 


now  pleads ;  and  what  can  be  more 
confidently  expected  than  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  gracious  v.-ord  1  There 
is  more  presumption  in  declining  and 
neglecting  his  promises^  than  in  urg- 
ing their  performance. 
.  7.  Brought  him  word  again  as  it 
was  in  viine  heart.  Made  a  true  and 
honest  statement ;  spake  sincerely  ; 
uttered  the  real  sentiments  of  my 
heart.  His  conscience  bore  him  wit- 
ness, and  now  enabled  him  to  say, 
that  neither /mr nor /«r<?;-  influenced 
him  on  the  occasion  ;  he  told  what 
he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth.  It 
has  been  remarked  in  this  connexion, 
that  Caleb's  name  signifies,  accord- 
ing to  the  heart. 

8.  I  wholly  followed  the  LiOrd.  Heb. 
nitT'  'inni^  ^n5<i?2  milUthi  ahari 
Yehovah,  fuljilled  after  the  Lord. 
Arab.  '  I  perfected  my  obedience  be- 
fore the  Lord  my  God.'  On  the  im- 
port of  this  expression,  see  Note  on 
Num.  14.  24.  The  energy  of  the 
expression  is  well  preserved  in  our 
version.  The  words  give  the  idea 
of  a  traveller,  who,  intent  upon  fol- 
lowing his  guide,  so  treads  in  his 
steps,  as  to  leave  hardly  any  void 
space  between.  As  he  had  obtained 
this  testimony  from  God  himself  it 


9  And  Moses  sware  on  that 
day,  saying,  ""Surely  the  land 
"  whereon  thy  feet  have  trodden 
shall  be  thine  inheritance,  and 
thy  children's  for  ever  ;  because 
thou  hast  wholly  followed  the 
Lord  my  God. 

10  And  now,  behold,  the  Lord 
hath  kept  me  alive,  °as  he  said, 
these  forty  and  five  years,  even 

m  Num.  14.  23,  24.  Deut.  1.  36.  ch.  1. 
3.     M  See  Num.  13.  22.     •  Num.  14.  30. 


was  not  vain-glory  for  him  to  speak 
of  it,  especially  as  this  was  the  maiii 
ground  on  which  he  had  become  en- 
titled to  the  object  of  his  petition.  It 
is  not  pride,  but  simply  a  tribuie  of 
due  acknowledgment,  to  declare  what 
a  gracious  God  has  done  for  us  and 
b}'-  us.  It  was  peculiarly  to  the  honor 
of  Caleb  that  he  maintained  such  a» 
unbending  fidelity  to  God  when  his 
brethren  and  associates  in  that  ser- 
vice, except  Joshua,  proved  so  faith- 
less and  faint-hearted.  '  It  adds  mueh 
to  the  praise  of  following  God,  if  we 
adhere  to  him  when  others  desert  and 
decline  from  him.'  Henry. 

9.  Mases  sicare  on  that  day.  See 
Num.  14.  24 ;  Deut.  1.  36.  In  these 
passages  God  himself  is  the  speaker ; 
and  it  is  he  that  swears  according  to 
the  words  here  recited.  But  as  Mos«s 
was  the  organ  through  whom  the  as- 
sured   promise    was   conve3'ed,    the 

swearing   is  attributed  to   him. 

IT  The  land  wheremi  thy  feet  have 
trodden.  Not  the  land  of  Canaan  in 
general,  but  this  particular,  this  iden- 
tical district.     See  on  v.  6. 

10.  Hath  kept  me  alive.  Heb. 
'imj^  rrrin  heheyah  othi,  hath  vivi- 
fied me.  See  on  ch.  6.  25.  Accord- 
ing to  our  previous  interpretation,  it 
implies  that  he  was  kept  alive,  when. 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


153 


since  the  Lord  spake  this  word 
unto  Moses,  ^^hile  the  children 
of  Israel  wandered  in  the  wil- 
derness :  and  now,  lo,  I  am  this 
day  fourscore  and  five  years  old. 
1 1  p  As  yet  I  am  as  strong  this 
day,  as  /  was  in  the  day  that 

P  See  Deut.  34.  7. 


in  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  he 
would  have  been  dead ;  that  it  was 
i7i  despite  of  the  tendencies  of  nature 
to  decay  and  dissolution  that  he  now 
stood  among  the  living  in  so  much 
health  and  strength.  His  present  ex- 
istence was  a  kind  of  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  The  longer  we  live, 
the  more  sensible  should  we  be  of  the 
special  upholding  hand  of  Providence 
in  prolonging  our  frail  and  forfeited 

lives. IF  These  forty  and  Jive  years. 

Of  which  thirty-eight  were  spent  in 
the  wilderness,  and  seven  in  the  pro- 
secution of  the  wars  in  Canaan. 

IT  Wandered  in  the  icilderness.  Heb. 
'liin  hala.k,v:alked.    As  a  punishment 

for  their  unbelief  and  rebellion. 

IT  Z/<?,  /  am  this  day  four  score  and 
Jive  years  old,  Heb.  '  a  son  of  four- 
score and  five  years.'  Caleb  was 
now,  with  the  exception  of  Joshua, 
not  only  the  oldest  man  in  all  Israel, 
but  was  twenty  years  older  than  any 
of  them;  for  all  that  were  above 
twenty  when  he  was  forty,  had  died 
in  the  wilderness.  '  It  was  fit,  there- 
fore, that  this  phoenix  of  his  age 
should  have  some  particular  marks 
of  honor  put  upon  him  in  the  divid- 
ing of  the  land.'     Henry. 

11.  tIs  my  strength  was  then,  so  is 
my  stre7igth  noto.  My  ability  not 
only  for  counsel,  but  for  action,  re- 
mains unimpaired  ;  I  am  as  compe- 
tent as  ever  for  the  hard  services 
and  difficult   exploits  of  war.     He 


Moses  sent  me  :  as  my  strength 
ivas  then,  even  so  is  my  strength, 
now,  for  war,  both  ''to  go  out, 
and  to  come  in. 

12  Now  therefore  give  me  this 
mountain,  wherefore  the  Lord 
spake    in    that   day ;    for    thou 

q  Deut.  31.  2. 


mentions  this,  both  to  give  glory  to 
God  who  was  the  strength  as  well  as 
the  length  of  his  days,  and  also  to 
intimate  to  Joshua  that  it  would  not 
be  throwing  away  a  portion  upon  a 
weak  old  man,  who  was  unequal  to 
the  task  of  either  taking  or  retaining 
it.  On  the  contrary,  even  if  it  were 
to  be  taken  from  the  hands  of  giants, 
and  should  require  the  utmost  prow- 
ess, energy  and  nerve  of  the  youthful 
w^arrior,  he  was  still  able  to  put  it 
forth.  He  was  not  afraid  to  cope  at 
eighty  with  the  same  power  which 
he  would  readily  have  encountered 
at  forty. — If  we  would  make  sure  of 
a  '  green  old  age,'  let  us  begin  early 
to  follow  the  Lord  fully.  It  is  usu- 
ally the  excesses  of  youth  which 
bring  on  the  premature  decay  of  the 
bodily  and  mental  powers.  It  is  pre- 
cisely that  sobriety,  temperance,  and 
moderation  which  religion  enjoins, 
that  secures  to  us  the  longest  contin- 
uance and  the  highest  enjoyment  of 
life,  health,  and  strength  ;  and  these 
habits  cannot  begin  to  be  practised 

too  early. ^Both  to  go  out  and  to 

covic  in.  A  proverbial  phrase,  equiv- 
alent to  performing  all  the  duties  be- 
longing to  an  official  station.  See 
on  Num.  27.  17. 

12.  Give  me  this  mountain.  Not 
any  particular  mountain,  but  this 
mountainous  tract  oi  region;  for 
such  was  eminently  the  country 
about  Hebron.   He  does  not  mention 


154 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444 


heardest  in  thai  day  how  ""  the 
Anakims  were  there,  and  that 
the  cities  were  great  and  fenced  : 


Num.  13,  28,  33 


and  cannot  mean  the  city  of  Hebron 
alone,  which  had  been  before  taken 
by  Joshua,  but  he  included  in  his  re- 
quest all  the  adjacent  country,  to  the 
caves  and  strongholds  of  which  the 
Anakim  had  retired,  and  where  they 
"were  now  abiding  in  consideral)le 
force.  The  city  itself  fell  afterwards 
to  the  lot  of  the  Levites,  ch.  21.  13, 
and  became  a  city  of  refuge,  ch.  20 
7.  '  When  Caleb  had  it,  he  content- 
ed himself  with  the  country  about  it, 
and  cheerfully  gave  the  city  to  the 
priests,  the  Lord's  ministers ;  think- 
ing it  could  not  be  belter  bestowed, 
»o,  not  upon  his  own  children,  nor 
that  it  was  the  less  his  own  for  being 
thus  de_)ioted  to  God.'  Henry.  He- 
bron, at  a  still  later  period,  became  a 
royal  city,  being  made  in  the  begin- 
ning of  David's  reign  the  meirapolis 

of  the  kingdom  of  Jndah. "IT  For 

thou  heardest — how  the  AnaJcims  icere 
there.  This,  it  would  seem,  was  the 
place  from  which  more  than  any 
other  the  spies  took  their  unfavorable 
report ;  for  here  they  met  wiih  the 
sons  of  Anak,  the  sight  of  whom  so 
much  intimidated  them.  'We  may 
suppose  that  Caleb,  observing  what 
stress  they  laid  tipon  tl:e  difficulty  of 
conquering  Hebron,  a  ciy  garrisoned 
by  the  giants,  and  how  from  thersce 
they  inferred  that  the  conquest  of  the 
whole  land  was  nMerly  impirc'ica- 
ble,  bravely  desired  to  have  ;hat  ci  y 
which  they  ca  lied  hnrnciUe  ass'gned 
to  himself  for  h\<  own  por.ion  :  "  1 
will  undertake  to  deal  with  that,  rnd 
if  I  cannot  get  »•  for  mv  inherits  nee, 


'if  so  be  the  Lord  will  he  with 
me,  then  '  I  shall  be  able  to  drive 
them  out,  as  the  Lord  said. 

s  Ps.  18.  32,  34,  and  60.  l2.      Horn.  8.  31, 
t  ch.  15.  14.     Judg.  1.20. 


I  Will  do  without."  "  Well,"  said  Mo-» 
ses,  "it  shall  be  thine  own  then,  win 
it  and  wear  it."  Henry.  Sttch  is  the 
spirit  of  the  true  Christian  hero.  All 
indeed  are  not  such,  but  some  are  ; 
and  he  who  is,  is  not  only  willing, 
but  forward,  in  the  strength  of  God^ 
to  encountet  the  most  formidable  en- 
emies and  the  most  apparently  insu- 
perable obstacles  in  working  out  the 
will  of  his  heavenly  Master.  If  there 
is  any  enterprise  of  peculiar  difficul- 
ty to  be  undertaken,  or  any  post  of 
especial  danger  to  be  occupied,  he  is 
prompt  to  volunteer  his  services  for 
the  occasion.  Not  that  he  courts  the 
perilous  work,  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  a  vain-glorioos  display  of 
courage  or  skill,  but  becauselie  wish- 
es to  honor  God  by  his  faith  ;  to  give 
him  an  opportunity,  through  such  an 
humble  instrument,  to  glorify  his 
great  name  and  confound  the  infidel- 
ity of  his  enemies  and  his  timorous 
friends.  In  one  who  feels  the  mis- 
sionary impulse,  this  Caleb-like  spirit 
will  prompt  to  a  fearless  survey  of 
the  whole  field,  and  if  there  be  any 
spot  Avhich  is  at  once  promising  and 
yet  appalling  desirable  and  yet  dread- 
ful; a  spot  where  the  greatest  force 
of  heathen  opposition  is  concentrated, 
that  is  the  spot  which  wiJl  be  really 
most  attrrctive  in  his  eye.  Its  diffi- 
culties and  d.^ngers  will  be  among 
its  highest  rccommendatjc^ns.  Tliis 
spirit  shone  conspicuously  in  Pauf 
i  in  the  whole  conr  e  of  hfs  life  and 
'■  Iabor.<,  and  on  one  occasion  wc  see 
:  it  nobly  expressirg  ii-^elf  in  so  m.iny 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


155 


13  And  Joshua  "blessed  him, 
""and  ga.e  unlo  Caleb  the  son 
of  Jepiiunneh,  Hebron  tor  an  in- 
heritance. 

14  ^Jtiebron  therefore  became 
the  inheritance  of  Caleb  the  son 
of  Jephunneh  the  Kenezite  unto 
this  aay ;  because  that  he  'wholly 
followed  the  Lord  God  of  Israel. 

u  ch.  22.  6.  X  ch.  10. 37.  and  15.  13.  Jucl^,'. 
I.  20.     See  ch.  21.  11,  12.     1  Chnjii.  o.  55,  bo. 

y  cii.  21.  12.     -i  ver.  «,  9. 

words,  when  iie  ^aj's  of  Ephesus,  •  A 
great  and  etiectual  door  is  opened 
unto  me,  and  many  adversaries.^  The 
*  adversaries  '  were  no  doubt  among 
the  special  indiicements  that  prompt- 
ed him  10  enter  that  field.  It  is  catise 
of  gra'iiiude  to  God  that  there  are 
such  spirits  still  to  be  found  in  the 
v/orld,and  that  as  long  as  there  shall 
be  sons  of  Anak  on  earth  to  intimi- 
date the  fearful,  there  shall  be  also 
sons  of  Caleb  to  grapple  with  and  de- 
stroy them. H   //  so  be  the  Lord 

willbe  with  '/r^e,  &c.  ChaL  'Perhaps 
the  Word  of  the  Lord  will  be  for  my 
help.'  The  ardor  of  a  bold  native 
temperament  is  here  modei^ated  by 
the  workings  of  a  spirit  of  conscious 
unwori-hiness  and  of  humble  depend- 
ence on  the  Divine  blessing.  Caleb 
in  these  words  virtually  acknow- 
ledges that  the  battle  is  not  to  the 
strong  nor  the  race  to  the  swift,  and 
that  the  favorable  presence  of  God 
with  us  in  our  undertakings  is  all  in 
all  to  our  success.  The  expression 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  implying 
any  doubt  in  his  mind  of  God^s  read- 
iness to  assist  him,  but  simply  as  a 
disclaimer  of  exclusive  reliance  on 
his  own  unaided  prowess.  It  is  the 
language  of  one  who  feels  that  an 
arm  of  flesh,  even  all  the  forces  of 
Israel  combined,  without  the  blessing 


15  And  *the  name  of  Hebron 
before  was  Kirjath-arba ;  which 
Arba  ivas  a  great  man  among 
the  Anakims.  ''And  the  land 
had  rest  from  war. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

rWlHIS  then  was  the  lot  of 
•^  the  tribe  of  the  children 
of  Judah  by  their  families  ;  ""  even 

^  Gen.  23.  2.  ch.  la.  13-.  b  ch.  11.  S3, 
a  Niuii.  34.  3. 


of  heaven,  would  be  powerless  to  ac- 
complish the  desired  result. 

13.  And  Joshua,  blessed  hivu  That 
is,  not  only  granted  his  request,  but 
applauded  his  brave  and  enterpris- 
ing spirit,  and  implored  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  him  in  reference  to  his 
proposed  undertaking. 

15.  Kiijath-arba.  That  is^,  the  city 
of  Arba,  the  name  of  an  individual 
distinguished  either  for  his  remark- 
able bodily  stature  and  strength,  or 
his  power  and  authority,  or  perhaps 

both,  among  the  Anakims. ^^And 

the  land  had  rest  from  war.  There 
were  no  more  g€ner<d  wars.  The 
inhabitants  of  Canaan  couid  make 
no  longer  any  head  again.st  the  power 
of  Israel  Being  disjointed  and 
broken,  they  could  no  longer  rally  in 
such  force  as  to  make  it  necessary 
for  the  rchole  Israelitish  body  to  go 
against  them  in  a  general  campaign. 
This  may  be  considered  as  the  gen- 
uine sense  of  the  expressioti,  though 
it  be  admitted  that  there  were  after- 
wards particular  wars,  arising  from, 
the  attempts  of  each  tribe  to  expel 
the  ancient  inhabitants  still  remain- 
ing in  their  respective  territories. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

1.   This  then  was  the  lot,  &c.     The 
account  of  the  partition  of  the  land 


166 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


to  the  border  of  Edom,  the  ^Avil- 
derness  of  Zin  southward  icat 


b  Num.  33.  26. 


which  was  commenced  ch.  14.  1-5, 
"was  interrupted  by  the  mention  of 
Caleb's  application  to  Jo.sbua  for  He- 
bron as  his  inheritance,  and  that 
being  dispatched,  the  writer  here  re- 
turns from  the  digression,  and  re- 
sumes the  thread  of  his  narrative  re- 
specting the  allolment  of  the  tribe.s. 
The  manner  in  which  the  designed 
partition  should  be  made,  had  already 
been  settled  by  Divine  appointment, 
Num.  2G.  25,  '  The  land  shall  be 
divided  by  lot :  according  to  the 
names  of  their  fathers  shall  they  in- 
herit.' In  obedience  to  this  command 
Joshua  now  proceeds.  On  this  part 
of  the  history  it  may  be  remarked, 
(1)  That  the  bu.siness  of  casting  lots 
on  this  occasion  was  undoubtedly 
conducted  with  great  seriousness  and 
solemnity,  and  with  devout  prayer  to 
God,  whose  is  the  disposal  of  the  lot, 
that  he  would  overrule  it  all  to  his 
own  glory  and  the  accomplishment 
of  his  wise  purposes.  (2)  That  al- 
though an  exact  survey  of  the  land 
^-as  not  taken  till  some  time  after 
this,  ch.  18.  4,  5,  yet  some  general 
view  of  it  must  have  been  obtained, 
and  some  rude  draught  have  been 
spread  before  them,  sufficient,  at 
least,  to  have  enabled  them  to  divide 
the  land  into  nine  and  a  half  portions, 
with  more  or  less  accuracy.  (3) 
That  the  respective  lots  did  not,  at 
this  time,  so  peremptorily  and  im- 
changeably  determine  the  bounds  of 
each  tribe,  that  they  could  not  sub- 
sequently be  either  contracted  or  en- 
larged, or  otherwise  altered ;  for  it 
is  evident  from  what  follows,  ch.  19. 
9,  thai  after  Judah's  lot  was  fixed, 


the  utterrnost  part  of  the  south 
coast. 


Simeon's  was  taken  out  of  it.  It 
would  seem,  in  fact,  that  the  fir.st  de- 
signation of  the  portions  of  the  sev- 
eral tribes  was  quite  vague  and  gen- 
eral, but  that  the  limits  of  each  were 
afterwards  adjusted  and  settled  by 
Joshua  and  the  elders,  with  as  much 
precision  as  the  nature  of  the  case 
would  admit.  (4)  As  ty  the  manner 
in  w^hieh  the  casting  of  lots  took 
place  on  this  occasion,  though  we 
are  not  expressly  informed,  yet  the 
probability  is,  that  after  the  land  was 
geographically  divided  into  the  re- 
quisite number  of  portions,  these  por- 
ti(.?ns  properly  labelled,  or  otherwise 
distinguished,  were  put  into  one  urn 
or  pot,  and  the  names  of  the  several 
tribes  into  another  :  that  then  Joshua, 
for  example,  put  his  hand  into  the 
vessel  containing  the  names  of  the 
tribes,  and  took  out  one  slip,  while 
Eleazar  took  out  one  from  the  other 
vessel,  in  which  the  names  of  the 
portions  were  put ;  whereupon  the 
name  drawn  and  the  portion  drawn 
being  read,  it  was  at  once  determined 
what  portion  was  to  be  appropriated 
to  such  a  tribe;  and  so  of  the  rest. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  this  plan 
was  adopted,  on  the  present  occasion, 
only  in  respect  to  the  two  large  and 
principal  tribes  of  Judah  and  Joseph, 
as  they  were  now  at  Gilgal,  and  the 
division  certainly  was  not  completed 
till  after  they  arrived  at  Shilo,  ch. 
18.  1,  2.  In  reference,  therelbre,  to 
this  mode  of  drawing  out  the  lots 
from  the  bottom  of  the  urns,  the  phra- 
seology of  a  lot's  '  coming  up '  or 
'coming  forth.'  became  established, 
IT  The  lot  of  the  tribe  of  the  children 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


157 


2  And  their  south  border  was  |  from  the  bay  that  looketh  south- 
from  the  shore  of  the  salt  sea,   ward : 


of  Judah.  By  the  special  disposition 
of  providence  the  lot  of  Judah  came 
up  first,  in  token  of  the  pre-eminence 
of  that  tribe  over  the  rest.  This  dis- 
tinction hereby  received  the  Divine 

sanction. %  Even  to  the  border  of 

Edom.  The  geography  of  the  sacred 
writings  presents  many  difficulties, 
occasioned  by  the  many  changes 
which  the  civil  state  of  the  promised 
land  has  undergone,  especially  for 
the  last  two  thousand  years.  Many 
of  the  ancient  towns  and  villages 
have  had  their  names  so  totally 
changed,  that  their  former  appella- 
tions are  no  longer  discernible  ;  sev- 
eral lie  buried  under  their  own  ruins ; 
and  others  have  been  so  long  destroy- 
ed that  not  one  vestige  of  them  re- 
mains. On  these  accounts,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  ascertain  the  situation  of 
many  of  the  places  mentioned  in  tins 
and.ihe  following  chapters.  Yet  the 
ancient  appellations  of  many  of  these 
localities  may  still  be  detected  in 
modiiied  forms  under  the  modern 
names,  and  the  sites  of  a  greater  num- 
ber of  ihem  satisfactorily  determined, 
than  would  at  first  seem  practicable. 
This  portion  of  the  sacred  story  can- 
not of  course  be  so  interesting,  or  so 
profitable  to  the  general  reader  as 
details  of  another  character,  and  we 
shall  not  therefore  enlarge  upon  it 
in  our  remarks,  bat  as  many  of  the 
places  here  mentioned  are  frequently 
alluded  to  in  the  subsequent  liistory 
and  the  prophets,  this  enumeration  is 
important,  as  enabling  us  oftentimes 
lo  determine  their  situation  ;  and  it 
need  not  to  b-.  observed  that  the  geo- 
graphy of  a  country  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  illustrating  its  history. 
14 


The  quaint  remark  of  Henry,  there- 
fore, on  this  subject,  is  deserving  of 
attention,  that  '  we  are  not  to  skip 
over  these  chapters  of  hard  names, 
as  useless  and  not  to  be  regarded ; 
where  God  has  a  mouth  to  speak  and 
a  hand  to  write,  we  snould  find  an 
ear  to  hear  and  an  eye  to  read.'  As 
it  respects  the  lot  of  Judah,  as  here 
marked  out,  it  was  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  wilderness  of  Sin  and 
the  southern  coast  of  the  Salt  Sea ; 
on  the  east  by  that  sea,  reaching  to 
the  place  at  which  it  receives  the 
waters  of  the  Jordan  ;  on  the  north, 
by  a  line  drawn  nearly  parallel  to 
Jerusalem,  across  from  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  Salt  Sea  to  the  south 
boundary  of  the  Philistines  and  to 
the  Mediterranean  Sea ;  which  sea 
was  its  western  boundary,  as  far  as 
the  river  of  Egypt.  Joshua  is  par- 
ticular in  giving  the  limits  of  this 
tribe,  as  being  the  first,  the  most  nu- 
merous, the  most  important,  that 
which  was  to  furnish  the  kings  of 
Judea,  that  in  which  ptire  religion 
was  to  be  preserved,  and  that  from 
which  the  Messiah  w^as  to  spring. 
As  this  portion,  however,  contained 
nearly  half  the  southern  part  of  Ca- 
naan, it  was  afterwards  found  too 
extensive,  and  the  possessions  of 
Simeon  and  Dan  were  taken  out  ol  it, 
2.  From  the  bay  that  looketh  soiith- 
v:ard.  Heb.  "^l^i  leshon,  the  tongue, 
i.  e.  a  gulf  bay,  or  arm  of  the  sea. 
The  like  phrase  occurs  Is.  11.  15, 
'  The  Lord  shall  utterly  destroy  the 
tongue  of  the  Egyptian  Sea.'  The 
southern  extremity  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
as  laid  down  in  the  best  maps,  an- 
swers in  its  form  to  this  description. 


15S 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


3  And  it  went  out  to  the  south 
side  "to  Maaleh-acrabbim,  and 
passed  along  to  Zin,  and  ascend- 
ed up  on  the  south  side  unto 
Kadesh-barnea,and  passed  along 
to  Hezron,  and  went  up  to  Adar, 
and  fetched  a  compass  to  Kar- 
kaa : 

4  From  thence  it  passed  ^  to- 
ward Azmon,  and  went  out  unto 
the  river  of  Egypt ;  and  the 
goings  out  of  that  coast  were  at 
the  sea  :  this  shall  be  your  south 
coast. 

5  And  the  east  border  vcas  the 
salt  sea,  even  unto  the  end  of 
Jordan  :  and  their  border  in  the 
north  quarter  was  from  the  bay 
of  the  sea,  at  the  uttermost  part 
of  Jordan : 

c  Num.  34.  4.     <l  Num.  34.  5. 

The  term  among  us  is  generally  ap- 
plied 10  a  jutting  promontory  of  land. 
'3.  Maaleh-acrabbi7n.  Or,  Heb. 
'  the  ascent  of  (the  mount  of)  scor- 
pions ;'  probably  so  called  from  the 
multitude   of  those   animals    found 

there.     Com.  Num.  34.  4. IT  Ka- 

desh-Bo.rnea.  Called  En-misbpat, 
Gen.  14.  7.  It  vas  on  the  edge  of 
the  wilderness  of  Paran,  and  about 
twenty-four  miles  from  Hebron. 
Here  Miriam,  the  sister  of  Moses 
and  Aaron,  died  ;  and  here  Moses 
and  Aaron  rebelled  against  the  Lord ; 
whence  the  place  was  called  Meri- 
bah-Kadesh,  ox  contention  of  Kadesh. 

5.  Unto  the  end  of  Jordan,  The 
mouth  of  Jordan  ;  the  place  where  it 
discharges  it.'-elf  into  the  Dead  Sea. 

6.  Bdh-arahaL  Heb.  '  house  of 
solitude  ;'  perhaps  so  called  from  the 
loneliness  and  dreariness  of  the  place. 

IT  The  stone  of  Bohan.     A  Reu- 

benite,  and  probably  a  distinguished 


6  And  the  border  went  up  to 
^Beth-hogla,  and  passed  along 
by  the  north  of  Beth-arabah ; 
and  the  border  went  up  'to  the 
stone  of  Bohan  the  son  of  Reu- 
ben : 

7  And  the  border  went  up  to- 
ward Debir  from  -  the  valley  of 
Achor,  and  so  northward  look- 
ing toward  Gibal,  that  is  before 
the  going  up  to  Adummim., 
which  is  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river  :  and  the  border  pass- 
ed toward  the  waters  of  En- 
shemesh,  and  the  goings  out 
thereof  were  at  ^'  Enrogel : 

8  And  the  border  went  up  'by 
the  valley  of  the  son  of  Hinnom, 

e  cli.  18.  19.  f  ch.  18.  17.  g  ch.  7.  26. 
h  2  Sam.  17.  17.  1  Kimis  1.9.  >  ch.  18.16. 
2  Kiims  23.  10.     Jer.  19.  2.  0. 


commander  of  the  forces  of  that  tribe 
which  came  over  the  Jordan.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  he  died  in  the  camp 
at  Gilgal,  and  was  buried  not  far  off, 
under  the  stone  here  alluded  to. 

7.  En-shevicsh.  Heb.  '  fountain  of 
the  sun ;'  a  place  eastward  of  Jeru- 
salem, on  the  confines  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin.  Some  conjecture  that  il 
was  a  fountain  dedicaied  by  the  Ca- 

naani.es  to  the  sun. IT  Eit-rogel. 

Heb.  'fountain  of  the  fuller;'  per- 
haps from  its  water  having  afibrded 
special  conveniences  to  those  that 
exercised  the  craft  of  fullers.  It  is 
supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the 
same  as  the  Pool  of  Siloam;  by 
others  placed  further  down  the  val- 
ley, near  the  south-east  of  Jerusalem, 
and  not  far  from  what  is  now  called 
the  Fountain  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

8.  The  vail'. ij  of  the  so n  of  Hin nam. 
A  valley  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem, 
lying  probably  on  the  south  of  mount 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTilR  XV. 


159 


unto  the  south  side  of  the  "^Je- 
busite  ;  the  same  is  Jerusalem  : 
and  the  border  went  up  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain  that  lieth 
before  the  valley  of  Hinnom 
westward,  which  is  at  the  end 
'  of  the  valley  of  the  giants 
northward  : 

9  And  the  border  was  drawn 
from  the  top  of  the  hill  unto 
'"  the  fountain  of  the  water  of 
Nephtoah,  and  went  out  to  the 
cities  of  mount   Ephron ;    and 

k  ch.  18.  28.  Judg.  ].  21,  and  19.  10.  1  ch. 
18.  16.    m  ch.  18.  15. 


Zion,  and  consequently  environing 
the  ancient  city  on  the  south  side> 
Who  this  Hinnom  was,  or  why  it 
was  called  his  valley,  is  not  known. 
This  valley,  or,  more  properly  speak- 
ing, ravinej  is  only  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  in  breadth,  and  is 
stated  to  have  been  in  ancient  times 
exceedingly  verdant  and  shaded  with 
trees.  But  from  the  inhuman  prac^ 
tices  of  the  Hebrews,  in  sacrificing 
their  infants  at  a  place  in  it  called 
Tophet,  the  whole  valley  was  de- 
nounced by  Jehovah,  and  polluted  by 
Josiah,  by  ordure  and  dead  men's 
bones  and  every  kind  of  filth  from 
the  city.  After  the  captivity,  the 
Jews  regarded  this  spot  with  abhor- 
rence, on  account  of  the  abomina- 
tions which  had  been  practised  there, 
and  following  the  example  of  Josiah, 
threw  into  it  the  carcases  of  animals 
and  the  dead  bodies  of  malefactors, 
and  every  species  of  refuse.  To  pre- 
vent the  pestilence  which  such  a 
mass  would  occasion,  if  left  to  pu- 
trify,  constant  fires  were  kept  up  in 
the  valley,  in  order  to  consume  what 
was  thrown  into  it.  It  became  there- 
fore a  striking  type  of  Hell,  or  that 


the  border  was  drawn  "  to  Baa- 
lah,  which  is  °  Kirjath-jearim  : 

10  And  the  border  compassed 
from  Baalah  westward  unto 
mount  Seir,  and  passed  along 
unto  the  side  of  mount  Jearim 
(which  is  Chesalon)  on  the 
north  side,  and  went  down  to 
Beth-shemesh,  and  passed  on  to 
p  Timnah  : 

11  And  the  border  went  out 
unto  the  side  of  '^  Ekron  north- 
ward :  and  the  border  was  drawn 

n  1  Chron.  13.  6.  o  Judsr.  18. 12.  p  Gen, 
38.  13.    Judg   14.  1.     q  cli."l9.  43. 


part  of  Hades  where  they  supposed 
the  souls  of  wicked  men  were  pun- 
ished in  eternal  fire.  Under  this  idea, 
it  was  often  called  Gehenna  of  fire  / 
the  name  'Gehenna'  being  formed 
from  the  Heb.  QDH  ^'^'>  Ge-hrnnom, 
valley    of    Hinnom.      See    Barnes' 

INotes  on  Mat.  6.  22. IT  Valley  of 

the  giants.  Or,  Heb.  d''5^&1  rephaim^ 
of  the  Rephaivi ;  on  which  word  see 
on  Gen.  6.  4 ;  Deut.  2.  7,  11.  This 
valley  lay  about  three  miles  to  the 
southwest  of  Jerusalem,  and  appears 
to  have  been  so  called  from  its  an- 
cient gigantic  inhabitants.  It  was 
the  theatre  of  several  signal  victories 
obtained  by  David  over  the  Philis- 
tines, and  was  also  famed  for  its  fer- 
tility and  its  excellent  crops  of  corn. 
Is.  17.  5.  The  road  from  Jerusalem, 
says  Maundrell,  passes  through  this 
valley,  and  in  it  are  pointed  out  to 
the  traveller  the  ruined  tower  of  Sim- 
eon, the  Greek  monastery  of  Elias, 
and  the  tomb  of  Rachel.  The  valley 
itself  is  now  only  partially  cultivated, 
and  even  those  parts  which  are  sown 
with  corn  yield  but  a  comparatively 
poor  and  scanty  crop.  '  He  turneth 
a  fruitful  land  into  barrenness  for 


160 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


to  Shicron,  and  passed  along  to 
mount  Baalah,  and  went  out 
unto  Jabneel ;  and  the  goings 
out  of  the  border  were  at  the  sea. 

12  And  the  west  border  icas 
*■  to  the  great  sea,  and  the  coast 
thereof:  this  is  the  coast  of  the 
children  of  Judah  round  about, 
according  to  their  families. 

13  IT  ^  And  unto  Caleb  the  son 
of  Jephunneh  he  gave   a  part 

of  Judah, 
^  to  the  commandment 
of   the    Lord   to   Joshua,  even 

ch.  14.  13. 


among  the  children 
accordin 


r  ver.  47. 
t  ch.  14.  15. 


Num.  34  6,  7. 


the  wickedness  of  them  that  dwell 
therein.' 

13.  And  unto  Caleb  he  gave.  Or 
Heb.  '  had  given.'  The  historian 
seems  pleased  with  every  occaf^ion 
to  make  mention  of  Caleb,  and  to  do 
him  honor,  because  he  honored  the 
Lord  by  following  him  fully.  Re- 
specting this  grant  to  Joshua,  see 
notes  on  the  preceding  chapter,  v. 
6-15. 

14.  Drove  thence  the  sons  of  Anak. 
This  is  doubtless  mentioned  here  to 
show,  that  the  confidence  he  had  be- 
fore expressed  of  success  in  this  af- 
fair, through  the  presence  of  God 
with  him,  did  not  deceiv^e  him.  The 
event  answered  all  his  expectations; 
and  it  is  here  put  on  record  at  once 
to  the  praise  of  Caleb,  to  the  glory 
of  God,  who  never  disappoints  those 
that  trust  in  him,  and  for  the  encour- 
agement of  believers  in  all  ages.  On 
the  sense  of  the  phrase  '  drove  out,' 
see  on  Judg.  1.  10. 

15.  Debir — Kirjath-sepher.  These 
names,  the  former  signifying  a  word 
or  oracle,  the  latter,  the  city  of  a  book, 
have  led  some  commentators  to  sup- 


^  the  city  of  Arba  the  father  of 
Anak,  which  city  is  Hebron. 

14  And  Caleb  drove  thence 
"  the  three  sons  of  Anak,  ""  She- 
shai,  and  Ahiman,  and  Talmai, 
the  children  of  Anak. 

15  And  y  he  went  up  thence  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Debir :  and 
the  name  of  Debir  before  ivas 
Kirjath-sepher 

16  ?[ 
smiteth  Kirjath-sepher,  and  tak 
eth  it,  to  him  will  I  give  Achsah 
my  daughter  to  wife. 


A.nd  Caleb  said,  He  that 


»  Jud-.  1.  10>  20. 
10.  38.     Judg.  1.  11. 


X  Num.  13.  22.     y  ch. 
z  Judg.  1.  12. 


pose  that  this  city  was  a  seat  of  learn- 
ing, or  a  repository  of  the  records  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants.  It  is  not  in- 
deed probable  that  writings  and  books, 
in  our  sense  of  the  words,  were  very 
common  among  the  Canaanites  ;  but 
some  method  of  recording  events  and 
a  sort  of  learning  was  doubtless  cul- 
tivated in  those  regions. 

16.  And  Caleb  said,  He  that  smiteth, 
&c.  We  cannot  think  so  ill  of  Caleb, 
as  to  suppose  that  this  proposition 
proceeded  either  from  cowardice  or 
sloth.  He  did  not  invite  another  to 
achieve  a  difficult  and  dangerous  ex- 
ploit because  he  shrunk  from  it  him- 
self He  had  already  evinced  too 
much  valor  to  allow  of  the  supposi- 
tion. But  his  generous  spirit  would 
not  permit  him  to  monopolise  all  the 
glory  of  these  victories.  He  would 
give  occasion  to  some  of  his  younger 
brethren  to  signalise  their  prowess 
also;  and  to  strengthen  the  induce 
raent,  he  makes  a  proffer  of  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  tlie  success- 
ful combatant.  Such  an  achievement 
would  be  presumptive  evidence  that 
the  man  was  worthy  of  her,  and  one 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


16J 


17  And  ''  Othniel  the  ^  son  of 
Kenaz,  the  brother  of  Caleb, 
took  it :  and  he  gav^e  him  Ach- 
sah  his  daughter  to  wife. 


aJudg.  1.  13,  and  3. 
14  G 


Num.  32. 12.  ch. 


who  was  likely  to  deserve  well  of 
his  country.  So  Saul,  in  like  man- 
ner, promised  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage to  him  who  should  kill  Goliath, 
1  Sam,  17.  25.  Fathers,  in  ancient 
times,  appear  to  have  had  nearly  an 
absolute  power  in  the  disposal  of 
their  daughters  in  marriage,  as  we 
learn  from  the  ca.se  of  Laban,  and 
numerous  other  instances  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures.  Caleb,  however, 
could  no  doubt  safely  presume  upon 
his  daughter's  preference  coinciding 
with  his,  especially  when  such  re- 
commendations existed  as  were  sup- 
posed in  the  very  nature  of  the  case. 
Deeds  of  valor  have  seldom  failed, 
in  any  age  of  the  world,  to  prove  a 
powerful  passport  to  the  female  heart, 
although  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
force  of  this  attraction  will  diminish, 
as  the  influence  of  a  religion  of  peace 
prevails  in  the  world. 

17.  Othniel,  the  son  of  Kenaz,  the 
brother  of  Caleb,  took  it.  It  was  Ke- 
naz, and  not  Othniel,  who  was  the 
brother,  and,  as  appears  from  Judg, 
1.  13,  the  younger  brother  of  Caleb  ; 
otherwise  the  marriage  would  have 
been  unlawful,  or  at  lea.st  of  question- 
able propriety.  It  is  not  at  all  im- 
probable, that  Othniel  previously  en- 
tertained an  affection  for  Achsah,  so 
that  he  could  not  brook  the  thought 
that  any  one  else  should  do  more  to 
win  her  favor,  than  he  himself  would. 
This  prompted  him  unhesitatingly 
to  take  up  the  gage  which  Caleb  had 
thrown  down.  The  result  proved 
14* 


18  "And  it  came  to  pass,  as 
she  came  unto  him,  that  she 
moved  him  to  ask  of  her  father 
a  field  ;  and  "^  she  lisfhted  off  her 


c  Judg.  1.  14.    d  Gen.  24.  64.  I  Sam.  25.  23. 


that  he  was  worthy  both  of  the  work 
and  the  wages  ;  for  he  became  after- 
wards a  deliverer  and  a  judge  in  Is- 
rael, the  first  single  person  who  pLi:e- 
sided  in  their  aifairs,  after  the  death 
of  Joshua.  '  It  is  good  for  those,  who 
are  setting  out  in  the  world,  to  begin 
betimes  with  that  which  is  great  and 
good  •  that,  excelling  in  service  when 
they  are  young,  they  may  excel  in 
honor  when  they  are  old.'  Henry. 

18.  As  shje  came  unto  him.  Or,  Heb. 
'  in  her  going ;'  i.  e.  in  going  from 
her  father's  house  to  live  with  her 

husband. IT  She  moved  him  to  ask. 

Gr.  '  she  took  counsel  with  him,  say- 
ing, I  will  ask.'  Being  on  the  point 
of  leaving  the  paternal  roof,  she 
seized  the  opportunity,  when  a  pa- 
rent's heart  would  naturally  be  tender 
and  yielding,  to  persuade  her  hus- 
band to  solicit  an  additional  boon  of 
her  father.  He  readily  consented  to 
the  request  being  made,  but  seems 
to  have  preferred  that  it  should  come 
from  herself  rather  than  him,  as  he 
would  do  nothing  that  would  appear 
like  taking  advantage  of  Caleb's  fa- 
vorable disposition  towards  his  son- 
in-law.  Accordingly  the  petition  was 
made  by  Achsah,  who,  in  order  to 
manifest  more  respect  and  reverence 
for  her  father,  alighted  off  the  ani- 
mal on  which  she  rode,  and  address- 
ed him  in  the  most  suppliant  posture. 
On  this  eastern  mode  of  expressing 
respect,  see  '  Illustrations  of  Scrip- 
ture,' p.  32,  282. 

19.  Give  me  a  blessing.    Do  me  an 


162 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


ass ;  and  Caleb  said  unto  her, 
What  wouldest  thou  ? 

19  Who  answered,  Give  me  a 
^blessing;  for  thou  hast  given 
me  a  south  land,  give  me  also 
springs  of  water  :  and  he  gave 
her  the  upper  springs,  and  the 
nether  springs. 

20  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Ju- 
dah  according  to  their  families. 

21  And  the  uttermost  cities  of 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Ju- 
dah  toward  the  coast  of  Edom 
southward  were  Kabzeel,  and 
Eder,  and  Jagur. 

e  Gen.  33.  11. 


act  of  kindness,  grant  me  a  special 
favor,  as  a  gift  is  sometimes  called  a 
blessing,  Gen.  33.  11 ;  2  Kings  5.  15  ; 
2  Cor.  9.  5.  Or,  she  calls  this  a  bless- 
ing, because  it  would  add  much  to 
the  comfort  of  her  settlement,  and  she 
was  sure,  since  she  married  not  only 
with  her  father's  consent,  but  in  obe- 
dience to  his   command,  he  would 

not  deny  her  his  blessing. IT  Hasi 

given  me  a  south  land.  Which  by 
lying  exposed  to  the  burning  rays  of 
the  sun,  and  to  the  sultry  south  winds, 
■was  comparati\^ely  ill-watered   and 

barren. II  Give  vie  also  springs  of 

water.  By  which  she  meant  not  sim- 
ply gushing  springs  of  water,  but  the 
field  or  fields  in  which  they  were  sit- 
uated, v.  18.  Chald.  '  Give  me  a 
place  moisten  xl  with  water.'  If  the 
fields  belonged  to  one,  and  the  springs 
to  another,  she  would  of  course  be 

little  benefited  by  the  poss?.ssion. 

^He  gave  her  the  tipper  springs  and  the 
nether  springs  B  -ih  higher  and 
lower  ground  ;  tracts  of  hill  and  dale 
well  watered.  An  allusion  of  prac- 
tical bearing  is  sometimes  made  to 


22  And  Kinah,  and  Dimonah, 
and  Adadah, 

23  And  Kedesh,  and  Hazor, 
and  Ithnan, 

24  Ziph,  and  Telem,  and  Bea- 
loth, 

25  And  Hazor,  Hadattah,  and 
Keiioth,  and  Hezron,  which  is 
Hazor, 

26  Amam,  and  Shema,  and 
Moladah, 

27  And  Hazar-gaddah,  and 
Heshmon,  and  Belh-palet, 

28  And  Hazar-shual,  and  Beer- 
sheba,  and  Bizjothjah, 

29  Baalah,  and  lim,  and  Azem, 


this,  when  we  pray  for  spiritual  and 
heavenly  blessings,  whi-^h  relate  to 
our  souls  as  blessings  of  the  upper 
springs,  and  those  that  relate  to  the 
body  and  the  life  that  now  is,  as  bless- 
ings of  the  nether  springs.  From 
this  story  we  may  learn,  (1)  That  a 
moderate  desire  for  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  this  life  is  no  breach 
of  the  commandment,  '  Thou  shall 
not  covet.'  (2j  That  mutual  consul- 
tation and  joint  agreement  between 
husbands  and  wives,  as  touching  the 
things  they  shall  seek  pertaining  to 
the  common  good  of  themselves  and 
their  families,  is  the  surest  omen  of 
success.  (3)  That  parents  should 
never  think  that  lost  which  is  be- 
stowed upjn  their  children  for  their 
advantage.  They  fu'rget  themselves 
and  their  relations,  who  grudge  their 
children  what  is  convenient  for  them, 
when  they  can  easily  part  with  it. 

20.  T,isisthei7iherilance,&c.  He 
now  returns  to  the  description  of  Ju- 
dah's  inherit  uue,  liom  the  digres- 
sion made  concerning  Caleb  and  his 
family,  in  the  preceding  verses. 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


163 


30  And  Eltolad,  and  Chesil, 
and  Hormah, 

3 1  And  •■  Ziklag,  and  Madman- 
nah,  and  Sansannah, 

32  And  Lebaoth,  and  Shilhim, 
and  Ain,  and  Rimmon  :  all  the 
cities  are  twenty  and  nine,  with 
their  villages  : 

33  xlnd  in  the  valley,  ^Esh- 
taol,  and  Zoreah,  and  Ashnah, 

34  And  Zanoah,  and  En-gan- 
nim,  Tappiiah,  and  Enam, 

35  Jarmuth,  and  Adullam,  So- 
coh,  and  Azekah, 

36  And  Sharaim,  and  Aditha- 
im,  and  Gederah,  and  Gedero- 
thaim  ;  fourteen  cities  with  their 
villages  : 

37  Zenan,  and  Hadashah,  and 
Migdal-gad, 

38  And  Dilean,  and  Mizpeh, 
''and  Joktheel, 

39  Lachish,  and  Bozkath,  and 
Eglon, 

40  And  Cabbon,  and  Lahmam, 
and  Kithlish, 

41  AndGederoth,Beth-dagon, 
and  Naaniah,  and  Tvlakkedah  ; 
sixteen  cities  with  their  villages : 

42  Libnah,  and  Ether,  and 
Ashan, 

43  And  Jiphtah,  and  Ashnah, 
and  Nezib, 

44  And  Keilah,  and  Achzib, 
and  Mareshah  ;  nine  cities  with 
their  villages : 

f  1  Sam.  27.  6,  s  Num.  13.  23.  h  2  Kings 
14.  7. 

32.  All  the  cities  are  twenty  and 
nine.     But  upon  an  exact  compnta- 


45  Ekron,  with  her  towns  and 
her  villages  : 

46  From  Ekron  even  unto  the 
sea^  all  that  lay  near  Ashdod, 
with  their  villages : 

47  Ashdod,  with  her  towns 
and  her  villages ;  Gaza,  with 
her  tow^ns  and  her  villages,  unto 
'the  river  of  Egypt,  and  Uhe 
great  sea,  and  the  border  there- 

"f- 

48  IF  And  in  the  mountains, 
Shamir,  and  Jattir,  and  Socoh, 

49  And  Dannah,  and  Kirjath- 
sannah,  which  is  Debir, 

50  And  Anab,  and  Eshtemoh, 
and  Anim, 

51  'And  Goshen,  and  Holon, 
and  Giloh  ;  eleven  cities  with 
their  villages  : 

52  Arab,  and  Dumah,  and 
Eshean, 

53  And  Janum,  and  Beth-tap- 
puah,  and  Aphekah, 

54  And  Huintah,  and  ™  Kirjath- 
arba  (which  is  Hebron)  and 
Zior  ;  nine  cities  with  their  vil- 
lages : 

55  Maon,  Carmel,  and  Ziph, 
and  Juttah, 

56  And  Jezreel,  and  Jokdeam, 
and  Zanoah, 

57  Cain,  Gibeah,  and  Timnah; 
ten  cities  with  their  villages  : 

58  Halhul,  Beth-zur,  and  Ge- 
dor, 

i  ver.  4.  k  Num.  34.  6.  1  ch.  10.  41,  and 
11.  16.    ra  ch.  14.  15,  and  ver.  13. 


many  of  them  are  expressed  by  com- 
pound terms,  irans]a;ors  may  have 
tion  tliere  appears  to  be  thirtij-ciiiht.  '  combined  what  should  be  separated, 


The  reason  of  the  discrepancy  doubt- 
less is,  either  that  nine  of  them  were 
afterwards  allotted  to  Simeon,  or,  as 


and  in  one  or  two  instances  have 
formed  the  names  of  cities  out  of  epi- 
thets. 


164 


JOSHUA. 


B.  C.  1444. 


59  And  Maarath,  and  Beth- 
anoth,  and  Eltekon  ;  six  cities 
with  their  villages  : 

60  "  Kirjath-baal  (which  is 
Kirjath-jearim)  and  Rabbah  ; 
two  cities  with  their  villages  : 

61.  In  the  wilderness,  Beth- 
arabah,  Middin,  and  Secacah, 

62  And  Nibshan,  and  the  city 
of  Salt,  and  En-gedi  ;  six  cities 
with  their  villages. 

63  IT  As  for  the  Jebusites,  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  °the 
children  of  Judah  could  not 
drive  them  out :  p  but  the  Jebu- 
sites dwell  with  the  children  of 
Judah  at  Jerusalem  unto  this 
day. 


A 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

ND  the  lot  of  the  children 
of  Joseph  fell  from  Jor- 

n  ch.  IS.  14.  o  See  Judg.  1.  8,  21.  2  Sam. 
5.  6.    p  Judg.  1.  21. 

63.  The  Jebusites — the  children  of 
Judah  could  not  drive  them  out.  Josh- 
ua had  before  taken  the  king  of  Je- 
rusalem, but  not  the  city.  The  part 
from  which  the  Jebusites  could  not 
be  dislodged  was  more  particularly 
the  stronghold  of  Zion,  falling  with- 
in the  lot  of  Benjamin,  which  was 
not  finally  reduced  till  the  time  of 
David,  2  Sam.  5.  6-10.  As  precisely 
the  same  thing  is  said  of  the  children 
of  Benjamin,  Judg.  1.  21,  which  is 
here  said  of  the  children  of  Judah, 
the  inference  is  inevitable  that  part 
of  Jerusalem  was  in  the  lot  of  Judah, 
and  part  in  the  lot  of  Benjamin. 
The  inability  of  Judah  to  expel  these 
Jebusites  was  owing  solely  to  their 
own  remissness  and  unbelief.  If  they 
had  attempted  it  with  vigor  and  reso- 
lution, if  they  had  all  had  the  un- 


dan  by  Jericho,  unto  the  water 
of  Jericho,  on  the  east,  to  the 
wilderness  that  goeth  up  from 
Jericho  throughout  mount  Beth- 
el, 

2  And  goeth  out  from  Beth-el 
to  ^  Luz,  arid  passeth  along  unto 
the  borders  of  Archi  to  Ataroth, 

3  And  goeth  down  westward 
to  the  coast  of  Japhleti,  ''unto 
the  coast  of  Beth-horon  the 
nether,  and  to  "  Gezer :  and  the 
goings  out  thereof  are  at  the  sea. 

4  '^  So  the  children  of  Joseph, 
Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  took 
their  inheritance. 

5  IT  And  the  border  of  the 
children  of  Ephraim  according 
to  their  families  was  thus  :  even 
the  border  of  their  inheritance 
on  the  east  side  was  ^Ataroth- 

a  ch.  18.  13.  Judg.  1.  26.  b  ch.  18.  13. 
2  Chron.  8.  5.  c  i  Chron.  7.  28.  1  Kings 
9.  15.    d  ch.  17.  4.    e  ch.  IS.  13. 


daunted  spirit  of  Caleb,  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  God  v/ould  have 
been  present  with  them  to  crown  their 
efforts  with  success. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

1.  The  children  of  Joseph.  Ephraim 
and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh. 
This  portion,  which  was  not  one, 
but  divided  and  distinct,  lay  in  the 
very  heart  of  Canaan,  extending 
from  the  Jordan  on  the  east,  to  the 
Mediterranean  on  the  west.  See 
Map.  Fell.  Heb.  i^S"'  yetze,  came 
Old,  went  forth;  i.  e.  out  of  the  ves- 
sel or  urn  from  which  it  was  drawn. 

IT  Unto  the  water  of  Jericho.    The 

fountain  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Jericho,  whose  waters  were  healed 
by  Elisha,  as  related  2  Kings  2.  19- 
22. IT  Mount  Bethel.     That  is,  the 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XVll. 


165 


addar,    ^unto    Beth-horon    the 
upper ; 

b  And  the  border  went  out  to- 
ward the  sea  to  =Michmethah 
on  the  north  side  ;  and  the  bor- 
der went  about  eastward  unto 
Taanath-shiloh,  and  passed  by 
it  on  the  east  to  Janohah ; 

7  And  it  went  down  from  Ja- 
nohah to  Ataroth,  ""and  to  Naa- 
rath,  and  came  to  Jericho,  and 
went  out  at  Jordan. 

8  The  border  went  out  from 
Tappuah  westward  unto  the 
'  river  Kanah :  and  the  goino-s 
out  thereof  were  at  the  sea. 
This  is  the  inheritance   of  the 


f  2  Chron.  8.  5. 
7.  28.     i  ch.  17.  9. 


ch.  17.  7.    h  1  Chron. 


mount  upon  or  near  which  mount 
Bethel  was  situated.  There  was  no 
mountain  so  called. 

10.  Drave  not  out  the  Canaanites. 
Yet  they  so  far  prevailed  against 
them  as  to  subject  them  to  tribute ; 
which  shows  that  with  proper  exer- 
tions they  might  have  extirpated  them 
entirely,  and  that  they  were  inexcu- 
sable for  not  having  done  so.  The 
remarks  of  Josephus  undoubtedly  fur- 
nish the  true  clae  to  their  remissness. 
'After  this,  the  Israelites  grew  eflfemi- 
nate  as  to  fighting  any  more  against 
their  enemies,  but  applied  themselves 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  which 
producing  them  great  plent}'  and 
riches,  they  neglected  the  regular 
disposition  of  their  settlement,  and 
indulged  themselves  in  luxury  and 
pleasures.'  '  The  Benjamites,  to 
whom  belonged  Jerusalem,  permit- 
ted its  inhabitants  to  pay  tribute ;  the 
rest  of  the  tribes,  imitating  Benjamin, 
did  the  same  ;  and  contenting  them- 
selves with   the  tributes  that   were 


tribe  of  the  children  of  Ephraim 
by  their  families. 

9  And  ^  the  separate  cities  for 
the  children  of  Ephraim  were 
among  the  inheritance  of  the 
children  of  Manasseh,  all  the 
cities  with  their  villages. 

10  '  And  they  drave  not  out 
the  Canaanites  that  dwelt  in 
Gezer  :  but  the  Canaanites 
dwell  among  the  Ephraim ites 
unto  this  day,  and  serve  under 
tribute. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THERE  was  also  a  lot  for 
the  tribe  of  Manasseh  ;  for 


k  ch.  17.  9.    1  Judg.  1.  29. 
9.  16. 


See  1  Kmgs 


paid  them,  permitted  the  Canaanites 
to  live  in  peace.'  Ant.  B.  V.  ch.  2. 
§  5,  7.  So  it  may  be  suggested  that 
Christians  are  in  danger  of  putting 
their  owft,  or  the  sins  of  others  i^/i^cr 
tribute,  i.  e.  making  them  a  source 
of  worldly  profit,  instead  of  vigor- 
ously aiming  to  eradicate  them  utter- 
ly, ft  is  a  serious  question,  whether 
the  gains  of  Christian  venders  of 
ardent  spirits  are  not  derived  from 
this  source.  Is  it  not  taking  tribute 
of  the  Caimanites  7 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

1.  Also  a  lot  for  the  tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh. It  was  important  to  note 
this,  to  show,  that  although  Jacob,  in 
his  blessing.  Gen.  48.  19,  20,  did,  in 
a  measure,  set  Ephraim  before  Ma- 
nasseh, yet  it  was  not  to  prejudice 
his  rights  of  primogeniture.  Ephra- 
im, indeed,  was  to  be  more  numerous 
and  powerful  than  Manasseh,  yet 
Manasseh  was  the  first-born,  and  was 
to  have  his  distinct  inheritance,  in- 


166 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


he  icas  the  "^  first-born  of  Joseph  ; 
to  wit,  for  ""Machir  the  first- 
born of  Manasseh,  the  father  of 
Gilead  :  because  he  was  a  man 
of  war,  therefore  he  had  'Gilead 
and  Bashan. 

2  There  'was  also  a  lot  for 
•^  the  rest  of  the  children  of  Ma- 
nasseh by  their  famihes  ;  ''for 
the  children  of  Abiezer,  and  for 
the  children  of  Helek,  '"and  for 
the  children  of  Asriel,  and  for 
the  children  of  Shechem,  ^  and 
for  the  children  of  Hepher,  and 
for  the  children  of  Shemida : 
these  ivere  the  male  children  of 
Manasseh  the  son  of  Joseph  by 
their  families. 

a  Gen.  41.  51,  and  46.  20,  and  48. 18.  b  Gen. 
50  23.  Num.  26. 29,  and  32.  39.40.  1  Chron. 
7.  14.  c  Deut.  3.  15.  d  Num.  26.  29-32. 
e  1  Chron.  7.  18.  Num.  26.  30.  f  Num.  26. 
31.     -  Num.  26.  32. 

slead  of  being  incorporated  with  his 

brother  in   possession. %  Machir. 

The  name  of  the  only  son  of  Ma- 
nasseh, but  here  as  well  as  Judg.  5. 
14,  put  for  his  posterity.  Ij;ideed, 
throughout  this  description  of  the 
boundaries  of  the  tribes,  the  names 
of  fathers  stand  for  their  descendants. 

U  The   first-horn  of  Manasseh. 

Meaning  his  only  son.  It  is  a  scrip- 
tural usage  to  denominate  an  only 
son  the  first  born.    See  Matt.  1. 24, 25. 

^  The  father  of  Gilead.  Although 

it  is  true,  as  expressly  affirmed  Num. 
26.  29,  and  27.  1,  that  Machir  was 
".he  father  01  a  son  named  Gilead,  yet 
it  is  certain  that  this  latter  name, 
when  used  with  the  article  in  Hob. 
as  here,  is  almost  invariably  applied 
to  the  country  so  called,  and  which 
received  its  denomination,  in  the 
time  of  Jacob,  from  the  incident 
mentioned    Gen     31.    48.      It    can 


3  TT  But  ''Zelophehad,  the  son 
of  Hepher,  the  son  of  Gilead, 
the  son  of  Machir,  the  son  of 
Manasseh,  had  no  sons,  but 
daughters :  and  these  are  the 
names  of  his  daughters,  Mahlah, 
and  Noah,  Hoglah,  Milcah,  and 
Tirzah. 

4  And  they  came  near  before 
'  Eleazar  the  priest,  and  before 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  and  be- 
fore the  princes,  saying,  ^  The 
Lord  commanded  Moses  to  give 
us  an  inheritance  among  our" 
brethren  :  therefore  according 
to  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  he  gave  them  an  inheri- 
tance among  the  brethren  of 
their  father. 

5  And  there  fell  ten  portions 

h  Num  26.  33-  and  27.  1,  and  36.  2.  i  ch. 
14    1.     k  Num.  27.  6,  7. 


scarcely  be  doubted,  therefore,  that 
the  phrase  'father  of  Gilead/  is  here 
properly  to  be  understood  of  Machir, 
and  that  he  is  so  called  ju.^i  as  in 
1  Chron.  2.  24,  45,  49,  50,  Asher  is 
called  '  father  of  Tekoa,'  Maon  '  fa- 
ther of  Beth-zur,'  Sheva,  '  father  of 
Gibea,'  and  Shabal  'father  of  Kirjath- 
jearim ;'  all  the  names  of  places. 
The  rea.son  of  Machir,  or  rather  his 
posterit)',  being  so  called,  is  imme- 
diately stated — because,  being  a  war- 
like and  valiant  race,  they  had  con- 
quered Gilead  and  Bashan,  therefore 
that  region  was  allotted  them. 

2.  The  male  children  of  Manasseh. 
This  is  mentioned  merely  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  ensuing  digression, 
concerning  the  daughters  of  Zelo- 
phehad, 

3,  But  Zelophehad  the  son  of  He- 
pher, &c.  See  Notes  on  Num.  26. 
33.  27. 1. 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


167 


to  Manasseh,  besides  the  land 
of  Gilead  and  Bashan,  which 
loere  on  the  other  side  Jordan ; 

6  Because  the  daughters  of 
Manasseh  had  an  inheritance 
among  his  sons  :  and  the  rest 
of  Manasseh's  sons  had  the  land 
of  Gilead. 

7  IT  And  the  coast  of  Manas- 
seh was  from  Asher  to  'Mich- 
methah,  that  lieth  before  She- 
chem ;  and  the  border  went 
alons:  on  the  rio;ht  hand  unto 
the  inhabitants  of  En-tappuah. 

8  Now  Manasseh  had  the  land 
of  Tappuah  :  but  ™  Tappuah  on 
the  border  of  Manasseh  belong- 
ed to  the  children  of  Ephraim  : 

9  And  the  coast  descended 
"unto  the  river  Kanah,  south- 
w^ard  of  the  river.  °  These  cities 
of  Ephraim  are  among  the  cities 

1  ch.  16  6.  ?i  ch.  16.  8.  n  ch.  16.  8. 
o  ch.  16  9. 


11.  Beth-shean  and  her  toivns.  Heb. 
(ITilDn  benothehah^  and  her  daugh- 
ters. Beth-shean,  or  Beth-san,  the 
Scythopolis  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
writers,  was  situated  in  the  plain  of 
Jordan,  at  the  east  end  of  the  great 
plain  of  Jezreel,  and  not  far  from  the 
sea  of  Galilee.  It  is  now  called 
Bisan,  eight  hours,  or  twenty-four 
miies  from  Tiberias,  and  described, 
by  Dr.  Richardson,  as  a  collection  of 
miserable  hovels,  containing  about 
two  hundred  inhabitants.  Bui.  the 
interesting  ruins  in  its  vicinity  point 
out  to  the  traveller  its  former  gran- 
deur and  importance. If  And  the 

inhabitants.  The  phraseology  is  re- 
markable, implying  that  they  had  or 
possessed  not  the  places  only,  but  also 
the  people  ;  that  is,  that  having 
spared  them,  contrary  to  the  Divine 


of  Manasseh  :  the  coast  of  Ma- 
nasseh also  was  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  and  the  out- 
o-oino-s  of  it  were  at  the  sea  : 

o        o 

10  Southward  it  loas  Ephra- 
im's,  and  northward  it  was  Ma- 
nasseh's, and  the  sea  in  his  bor- 
der ;  and  they  met  together  in 
Asher  on  the  north,  and  in  Is- 
sachar  on  the  east. 

1 1  p  And  Manasseh  had  in 
Issachar  and  in  Asher,  '^  Beth- 
shean  and  her  towns,  and  Ibleam 
and  her  towns,  and  the  inhab- 
itants of  Dor  and  her  towns,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Endor  and  her 
towns,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Taanach  and  her  towns,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Megiddo  and  her 
towns,  even  three  countries. 

12  Yet  '^the  children  of  Ma- 
nasseh could  not  drive   out  the 

P  1  Chron.  7.29.  q  1  Sam.  31.  10.  1  Kings 
4.  12.    r  Judg.  1.  27,  28. 


command,  they  reduced  them  to  the 
condition  of  dependants  and  menials, 
and  served  theinselves  of  them. 

12.  The  children  of  Manasseh  could 
not  drive  out,  &c.  Their  inability 
was  wholly  of  the  moral  kind.  They 
could  not  do  it,  because  they  were 
not  disposed  to  do  it,  just  as  it  is  said 
of  Joseph's  brethren,  Gen.  37.  4,  that 
'  they  could  not  speak  peaceably  unto 
him,'  so  strong  was  their  personal 
dislike  to  him.  The  love  of  ease, 
the  prospect  of  gain,  and,  perhaps, 
the  feelings  of  humanity,  accompa- 
nied by  a  gradual  declension  of  faith 
and  zeal,  prevailed  over  the  motives 
which  should  have  prompted  them 
to  action,  and  so  rendered  them  un- 
ahU  to  effect  the  object.  But  an  in- 
ability, arising  from  this  source,  was 
obviously  inexcusable,  on  the  same 


168 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


inhabit  ants  of  those  cities  ;  but 
the  Canaanites  would  dwell  in 
that  land. 

13  Yet  it  came  to  pass,  when 
the  children  of  Israel  were  wax- 
en strong,  that  they  put  the 
Canaanites  to  'tribute  ;  but  did 
not  utterly  drive  them  out. 

s  ch.  16.  10. 

grounds  that  a  drunkard's  inability 
to  master  his  propensity  for  strong 
drink  is  inexcusable.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  '  cannot '  of  the  impenitent 
sinner,  in  regard  to  the  performance 
of  his  duty,  is  equally  inexcusable. 

IT  The  Canaanites  would    djcell 

in  that  land.  Heb.  ir,n'c;^  ^li^l"'  yotl 
lashebetk,  willed  to  dicell.  A  very  re- 
markable expression,  indicative  of 
the  obstinate  determination  of  the 
Canaani  es  to  retain  possession  of  the 
country,  and  carrying  vviih  it  a  severe 
reflection  upon  the  supineness,  cow- 
ardice, and  unbelief  of  ihe  Lsraeliles. 
The  present  version,  '  would,'  gives 
a  very  exact  idea^of  the  import  of  the 
original,  whicli  signifies  to  icill,  to 
determine,  especially  as  iLc  result  of 
Qomplaccncy,  content,  or  salisfaction 
in  any  thing.  It  iinplies  here,  that 
the  Canaanites  resolved  to  act  their 
own  luill  in  remaining,  that  they 
would  do  as  they  2^leascd  about  iL. 
Alas !  how  often  is  it  the  case  that 
our  innate  lusts,  those  hidden  ene- 
mies of  the  heart,  obtain  such  an  ad- 
vantage ovTr  us,  that  they  may  be 
conceived  as  uttering  the  .same  lan- 
guage !  Long  accustomed  to  tolera- 
tion and  forbearance,  they  at  length 
spurn  control,  and  domineer  in  the 
most  absolute  manner.  As  if  they 
held  their  place  and  power  by  pre- 
scription, they  seem  determined  not 
to  be  dispossessed,  and  lord  it  with 


14  *  And  the  children  of  Joseph 
spake  unto  Joshua,  saying,  Why 
hast  thou  given  me  hut  "  one  lot 
and  one  portion  to  inherit,  see- 
ing I  am  ""  a  great  people,  foras- 
much as  the  Lord  hath  blessed 
me  hitherto? 


t  ch.  16.  4.    u  Gen.  48.  2'2.    x  Gen.  48. 19. 
Num.  26.  34,  37. 


all  the  airs  of  despotic  masters  over 
their  too  easy  and  obsequious  sub- 
jects. But  such  a  base  subjection  as 
this,  always  costs  the  Christian  dear, 
if,  indeed,  he  be  a  Christian  over 
whom  it  is  exercised.  He  may  de- 
cline a  vigorous  ccnlest  now  when 
the  victory  is  comparativelj^  easy, 
but  he  must  ]  repare  for  the  combat 
by  and  by,  and  must  count  upon  ten- 
fold ditTiculty  in  achieving  a  con- 
quest. If  he  succeeds  at  all,  he  will 
barely  escape  with  his  life.  In'erest, 
duty,  safetv,  all  combine,  therefore, 
to  require  of  the  believer  the  most 
determined  and  unremitting  effoiis 
to  obtain  and  preserve  a  decided  as- 
cendency over  the  inLred  corruptions 
of  his  nature. 

13.  Yet  it  came  to  pass,  &c.  This 
might  better  Le  rendered  'and.'  or 
•  lor  it  came  to  pass,'  as  the  words 
arc  not  in.ended  to  express  an  oppo- 
sition to  the  leading  sen.se  of  the  pre- 
ceding verse,  but  rather  to  point  to 
the  reason  of  the  failure  of  ihe  Israel- 
ites to  expel  their  enemies:  viz.  be- 
cause they  found  it  more  agreeable 
to  put  them  under  tribute,  though  in 
direct  disobedience  of  the  divine  in- 
junction. Deut.  20. 16. 

14.  The  children  of  Joseph.  That 
is,  bo!h  the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh  conjointly.  They  speak, 
however,  according  to  common  usage 
in  the  Hebrew,  as  if  they  were  but 


B,  C.  1444,] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


169 


15  And  Joshua  answered  them, 
If  thou  be  a  great  people,  then 
get  thee  up  to  the  wood-co?«i- 
try^  and  cut  down  for  thyself 
there  in  the  land  of  the  Periz- 


one  person. fTOne  lot  and  one  por- 
tion. It  is  not  easy  to  determine 
whether  they  complain  of  having  re- 
ceived but  one  lot,  when  they  consi- 
dered themselves  entitled  to  two,  as 
being  two  distinct  tribes,  or  that  the 
district  assigned  to  them  was  so  small 
as  to  be  no  more  than  sufficient  for 
one  tribe  of  ordinary  dimensions. 
They  complain,  however,  of  the  nar- 
rowness of  their  bounds,  and  plead 
that  their  great  numbers  should  con- 
stitute a  claim  for  a  larger  portion. 

IT  Forasimich  as  the  Lord  hath 

blessed  'nve,  hitherto.  Increased,  mul- 
tiplied me.  On  this  sense  of  the 
word  '  bless,'  see  on  Gen,  1.  22. 

15.  If  thou  be  a  great  people.  Josh- 
ua takes  them  at  their  word,  and 
makes  their  alleged  greatness  an  ar- 
gument of  their  being  the  better  able 
by  their  own  energy  and  industry  to 
make  up  any  deficiency  in  their  lot. 
The  complete  exfulsion  of  the  Ca- 
naanites  from  their  territories  would 
be  a  virtual  enlargement  of  their 
bounds,  and  to  this  they  ought  to 
hold  themselves  obliged  by  the  com- 
mand and  the  promise  of  Jehovah, 
He  intimates,  if  we  mistake  not,  that 
their  lot  was  in  itself  sufficiently  ex- 
tensive for  their  purposes,  would  they 
but  make  it  all  available,  which  he 
now  enjoins  it  upon  them  to  do.  '  Ma- 
ny wish  for  larger  possessions  who 
do  not  cultivate  and  make  the  b«st 
of  what  they  have ;  and  think  they 
should  have  more  talents  given  them, 
when  thev  do  rot  fr^do  with  those 
15 


zites  and  of  the  ''giants,  if  mount 
Ephraim  be  too  narrow  for  thee. 
16  And  the  children  of  Joseph 
said,  The  hill  is  not  enough  for 
us  :  and  all  the  Canaanites  that 

V  Gen.  14.  5,  and  15.  20. 


with  which  they  are  intrusted.'  Hen- 
ry.  ^\Gct  thee  up  to  the  wood-coxm- 

try.  That  is,  to  the  mountainous 
parts  which  are  covered  with  wood. 
We  suppose  he  still  has  in  view  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  tract  which  had  not 
been  expressly  assigned,  but  which 
were,  at  present^  possessed  by  the 
Perizzites  and  Rephaim,  a  gigantic 
and  formidable  race,  whom  they 
seem  to  have  been  backward  to  en- 
counter.  IT  Cut  dov:n  for  thyself. 

That  is,  prepare  a  place  for  thyself. 
They  were  to  combine  the  labors  of 
the  axe  with  those  of  the  sword,  in 
obtaining  and  fitting  up  for  them- 
selves a  suitable  possession.  It  is, 
however,  to  be  remarked,  that  the 
original  word  here  rendered  '  cut 
down  '  is  applied,  Ezek.  23.  47,  to  dis- 
patching  with  the  sivord,  and  that  it  is 
not,  therefore,  absolutely  certain  that 
it  refers  solely  to  the  cutting  down  the 
trees  of  a  forest.  It  may  mean  cut- 
ting down  enemies  in  war.  Probably 
the  genuine  idea  is,  making  a  clear- 
ance for  themselves,  whether  by  fell- 
ing the  forests,  or  by  cutting  oflf  the 
giants,  or  both.  It  is  worthy  of  notice, 
that  the  original  word  is  from  the 
same  root  with  i^l^  bara,  to  create, 
Gen.  1.  1,  and  which  we  there  en- 
deavored to  show,  implied  a  process 
of  re-forming,  or  renovating,  just  as 
the  transforming  an  uninhabited 
woodland  tract  into  cultivated  fields, 
or  populous  towns,  renovates  or  re- 
creates a  country.' 

16,   The  hill  is  not  enough  for  us. 


170 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


dwell  in  the  land  of  the  valley 
have  -^  chariots  of  iron,  both  they 
who  are  of  Beth-shean  and  her 
towns,  and  they  who  are  ^  of  the 
valley  of  Jezreel. 

17  And  Joshua  spake  unto  the 
house  of  Joseph,  even  to  Ephra- 
im   and   to    Manasseh,   saying, 

y  Judsr.  1.  19,  and  4.  3. 


Heb.  1j^  ^1)2'^  55^  lo  yimmatze  lanu, 
shall  nol  be  found  for  us.  That  is, 
perhaps,  is  unattainable  by  u?,  can- 
not be  mastered.  The  grounds  of 
their  apprehension,  they  proceed  to 

state  in  what  follows. IT  And  all 

the  Canaanites,  &c.  Rather, /or  all 
the  Canaanites,  &c.  It  would  be  im- 
possible, they  thought^  to  make  them- 
selves masters  of  the  mountains,  so 
long  as  their  enemies,  with  their  iron 
chariots,  commanded  all  the  adjacent 
valleys.  Such  a  formidable  defence 
would  effectually  preclude  all  access. 

^Cliariots  of  iron.    Not  chariots 

made  wholly  of  iron,  but  armed  with 
it ;  chariots  with  long  scythes  fas- 
tened to  their  axle-trees,  as  described 
above,  ch.  11.  4.     * 

17.  Thou  shall  not  have  one  lot  on- 
Ij.  Thoa  shalt  not  be  restricted  to 
what  t?i,ou  callest  one  lot ;  it  is  in  fact 
a  much  larger  territory,  and  thou  do- 
est  wrong  to  call  it  by  so  diminutive 
a  title.  Only  possess  the  whole,  and 
great  and  powerf^il  as  ihou  art,  thou 
wilt  find  no  reason  to  complain  of 
too  contracted  bounds. 

18.  But  the  mountain  shall  be  thine. 
The  same  mountainous  or  hilly  tract 
of  which  he  had  spoken  before.  See- 
ing that  their  request  proceeded  only 
from  pusillanimity  and  want  of  faith, 
he  insists  upon  his  first  stiggestion 
He  would  have  them  quit  themselves 
like  men,  and  take  possession  of  the 


Thou  art  a  great  people,  and 
hast  great  power  ;  thou  shalt 
not  have  one  lot  only : 

18  But  the  mountain  shall  be 
thine  ;  for  it  is  a  wood,  and  thou 
shalt  cut  it  down  :  and  the  out- 
o:oin2:s  of  it  shall  be  thine :  for 
thou  shalt  drive  out  the  Canaan- 

7.  ch.  19.  18.     1  Kings  4.  12. 


fine  wooded  hills  to  Avhich  he  refer- 
red before.  There  was  no  reason 
why  they  should  ask  any  thing  more. 
And  as  lo  the  Canaanites  and  their 
chariots  of  iron,  what  were  the}' 
when  set  in  opposition  to  the  almigh- 
ty arm  of  Israel's  God  1  They  were 
not  to  fear  for  a  moment  but  that 
they  should  drive  them  out,  terrible 

as  they  were ITTAc  outgoings  of 

it  shall  be  thine.  Meaning,  probably, 
the  passages  and  valleys  leading  to 
it ;  q.  d.  '  Clear  away  the  wood,  occu- 
py the  mountain,  and  you  shall  soon 
be  able  to  command  all  the  defiles, 
all  the  avenues  of  approach,  and  no 
enemy  can  make  head  against  you.' 
Otherwise,  the  meaning  may  be,  The 
mountainous  tract,  in  all  the  extent  of 
its  boundaries.^  shall  be  thine.  This 
is  sometimes  the  sense  of  '  outgo- 
ings.' We  may  learn  from  this  pe- 
tition of  the  sons  of  Joseph,  (1)  How 
prone  men  are  to  be  discontented  with 
their  lot.  A  dissatisfied  mind,  a  dis- 
position to  murmur,  envy,  and  covet, 
rather  than  to  be  content,  thankful, 
and  liberal,  is,  alas  1  too  often  charac- 
teristic of  those  who  are  really  high- 
ly favored  of  Heaven,  would  they 
but  survey  their  blessings  in  all  their 
length  and  breadth,  and  extract  the 
most  out  of  them  that  they  are  capa- 
ble of  yielding.  (2)  Our  complaints 
of  comforts  withheld  are  often  no 
more  than  testimonies  of  our  own  sii- 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


171 


ites,    'though    they    have    iron 
chariots,    and   though    they  be 


A 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

ND  the  whole  congregation 
of  the  children  of  Israel 
assembled  together^ at  Shiloh, 

'-  Deut.  20, 

pineness,  negligence,  and  fear  of  the 
cross.  From  an  ignoble  fear  that 
our  enemies  are  too  many,  or  too 
mighty  for  us,  and  that  we  can  do 
nothing,  we  sit  down  and  attempt 
nothing :  and  yet  we  complain  of 
providential  allotments.  Thus  it  is 
that  '  the  foolishness  of  man  pervert- 
eth  his  way,  and  (yet)  his  heart  fret- 
leth  against  the  Lord.' 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

1,  T7ie  inhole  congregation — assem- 
bled at  Shiloh.  The  withdrawment 
of  the  tribes  of  Judali.  Ephraim,  and 
Manasseh,  to  take  possession  of  their 
respective  lots,  would  sensibly  dimin- 
ish the  body  of  the  people  encamped 
around  the  tabernacle  at  Gilgal,  and 
make  it  inconvenient  as  a  place  of 
resort  to  those  who  were  becoming 
settled  at  a  distance.  The  expedien- 
cy, therefore,  of  removing  the  taber- 
nacle itself  to  a  more  central  posi- 
tion was  obvious,  though  the  step,  it 
may  be  presumed,  would  not  be  tak- 
en without  divine  direction,  for  God 
expressly  retained  to  himself  the  pre- 
rogative of  '■  choosing  the  place  where 
he  should  cause  his  name  to  dwell,' 
Deut.  12.  11.  Shiloh  accordingly 
was  selected  for  this  purpose.  The 
name  of  this  city  is  the  same  as  that 
by  which  Jacob  predicted  the  Messi- 
ah, 49.  10,  and  some  commentators 
suppose  that  it  was  first  called  Shiloh 


and  ^set  up  the  tabernacle  of 
the  cono-reo-ation  there :  and  the 
land  was  subdued  before  them. 
2  And  there  remained  among 
the  children  of  Israel  seven 
tribes,  which  had  not  yet  re- 
ceived their  inheritance. 

a  ch.  19.  51,  and  21.  2,  and  22. 9.  Jer.7. 12. 
1)  Judg.  18.  31.     1  Sam.  ] .  3,  24,  and  4.  3, 4. 


on  this  occasion,  w^hen  selected  for 
the  resting-place  of  the  ark,  and  the 
observance  of  those  institutions  which 
pointed  to  Christ,  the  great  Peace- 
maker between  heaven  and  earth.  It 
Avas  situated  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
in  the  very  centre  of  Canaan,  about 
twenty  miles  north  of  Jerusalem, 
twelve  north  of  Bethel,  and  ten  south 
of  Shechem.  It  was  therefore  the 
mo.'^t  convenient  location  possible  for 
all  the  tribes,  and  as  Joshua  was  him- 
self of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  he,  as 
chief  magistrate  of  the  nation,  would 
I  always  have  a  ready  access  to  the 
I  sanctuary,  when  the  God  of  Israel 
was  to  be  consulted.  In  this  place 
the  ark  and  the  tabernacle  remained 
for  upwards  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  till  taken  by  the  Philis- 
tines, in  the  time  of  Eli,  1  Sam.  4. 
1-11.  It  was  afterwards  removed  to 
Nob,  and  finally,  in  the  reign  of  Da- 
vid, to  Jerusalem. 'HAnd  the  land 

was  subdued  before  them.  Or,  Heb. 
'for  the  land  was  subdued,'  intimat- 
ing to  the  reader,  how  it  happened 
that  they  were  enabled  to  avail  them- 
selves of  this  favorable  location. 
They  were  freed  from  the  molestation 
of  their  enemies.  The  Canaanites 
were  so  far  subdued  that  they  offered 
no  resistance  or  impediment  to  the 
occupation  of  the  spot. 

2.  Seven  tribes  which  had  not  yet 
received  their  inheritance.     The  rea- 


172 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


3  And  Joshua   said   unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  'How  long 

c  Judg.  IS.  9. 


sons  of  this  delay  are  unknown. 
The  probability  is,  that  the  original 
surv^ey,  on  which  the  division  thus 
far  made  was  founded,  was  so  im- 
perfect, that  the  remaining  tribes 
w^ere  unwilling  to  have  it  made  the 
basis  of  their  respective  allotments. 
This  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  Judah's  portion  was  soon  found 
to  be  too  large,  as  Joseph's  had  al- 
ready been  found  too  small.  The 
dissatisfaction  expressed  had  led 
therefore  to  a  temporary  suspension 
of  the  work,  till  a  new  and  more  ex- 
act survey  could  be  made.  Add  to 
this,  ihat  they  appear  to  have  become 
tired  of  the  war.  Their  former  con- 
quests had  enriched  them  with  spoil, 
they  -vvere  enjoying  the  ample  provi- 
sions which  had  been  treasured  up 
for  the  use  of  the  former  inhabitants, 
and  they  became  self-indulgent,  sloth- 
ful, and  dilatory.  They  were  now 
living  at  ease  in  the  midst  of  their 
brethren ;  the  regions  that  yet  re- 
mained to  be  divided  were  remote 
from  the  station  around  which  they 
were  clustered,  and  if  they  went  to 
take  possession  of  them,  they  must 
break  up  their  present  connexions, 
drive  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  con- 
vey their  wives  and  children  to 
strange  places,  and  undergo  new 
hardships  and  trials.  Besides  this, 
great  numbers  of  the  Canaaniles  .still 
remained  in  the  unappropriated  dis- 
tricts, and  these,  they  knew,  could 
not  be  expelled  but  at  the  expense 
of  great  effort,  fatigue  and  peril. 
Their  hearts  accordingly  sunk  with- 
in them  at  the  pro.spect.  They  knew 
the  worK  was  to  be  done — thev  wi.sh- 


are  ye  slack  to  go  to  possess  the 
land  which  the  Lord  God  of 
your  fathers  hath  given  you  ? 


ed  it  were  done— but  still  they  had 
not  spirit  to  undertake  it.  '  The  soul 
of  the  sluggard  desireth  and  hath  no- 
thing.' What  a  striking  picture  of 
the  too  common  apathy  and  sluggish- 
ness of  the  candidate  for  the  heaven- 
ly inheritance!  How  frequently  is 
he  diverted  from  present  duties  and 
debarred  from  present  comforts,  by 
giving  way  to  slothful  or  timorous 
apprehensions  of  the  difficulties  that 
be.set  his  path.  Forty  years  after  this 
time,  the  tribe  of  Dan  had  to  fight 
for  their  inheritance,  and  it  was  four 
hundred  years  before  the  Jebusites 
were  driven  from  Jerusalem.  Had 
all  the  tribes  proceeded  with  united 
vigor  to  fulfil  the  divine  command 
in  its  utmost  extent,  they  would  not 
so  long  have  been  annoyed  by  their 
remaining  enemies,  as  'scourges  in 
their  sides,  and  thorns  in  their  eyes.' 
And  who  does  not  find  that  corrup- 
tions gather  strength  by  indulgence, 
and  that  graces  decay  for  want  of  ex- 
ercise 1  Therefore  let  us  look  to  our- 
selves, that  we  lose  not  the  things 
that  we  have  wrought. 

3.  Hoio  long  are  ye  slack  to  go  to 
possess  the  land,  &c.  This  is  surely 
the  language  of  rebuke,  and  implies 
that  there  had  been  a  criminal  remiss- 
ness, among  the  tribes,  in  regard  to 
this  matter,  the  probable  source  of 
which  is  explained  in  the  remarks 
on  the  preceding  verse.  It  is  true, 
indeed,  that  they  could  not  well  be 
enjoined  to  enter  immediately,  to 
rush,  as  it  were,  upon  their  inheri- 
tances, for  the  particular  assignments 
were  first  to  be  made  to  each,  but  the 
point  of  the  censure  is  directed  to 


B.  C.  1444; 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


173 


4  Give  out  from  among  you 
three  men  for  each  tribe  :  and  1 
will  send  them,  and  they  shall 
rise,  and  go  through  the  land, 
and  describe  it  according  to  the 
inheritance  of  them,  and  they 
shall  come  again  to  me. 


their  indifference  in  this  respect. 
They  manifested  no  interest  in,  they 
were  taking  no  steps  towards  having 
the  requisite  survey  and  division 
made.  This  was  the  essence  of  their 
ofience.  So,  in  reproving  the  im- 
penitent for  his  neglecting  to  work 
out  his  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling,  and  in  pressing  upon  him 
the  faithful  discharge  of  every  Chris- 
tian duty,  it  is  still  to  be  understood 
that  his  first,  his  immediate  business 
is  to  become  reconciled  to  God,  by 
unfeigned  repentance ;  and  thus  to 
secure  a  title  to  eternal  life.  When 
this  is  done,  his  great  concern  in  life 
is,  like  that  of  the  Israelites  in  Ca- 
naan, lo  labor  to  enter  into  possession 
of  his  eternal  inheritance. 

4.  Give  out  from  among  you.  Heb. 
G5?  I^n  habu  lakern,  give  ye  for  your- 
selves;  i.  e.  appoint,  select,  ordain. 

IT  Three  men  of  each  tribe.     Of 

each  of  the  seven  tribes  that  yet  re- 
mained to  be  provided  for,  making 

twenty-one  in  all. If  Go  through 

the  land.  Accompanied,  perhaps,  by 
a  military  guard,  to  prevent  the  sur- 
veyors from  being  cut  off  by  strag- 
gling parties  of  the  Canaaniles. 
Others  suppose  the  Canaanites  were 
supernaturally  intimidated  and  re- 
strained  from    attacking  them. 

IT  Describe    it.       See    on  v.   9. 

^According  to  the  inheritance  of  them. 
Heb.  t3ri];nD  '^'d^  Upi  nahalatham, 
according  to  the  mouth  of  their  in- 
heritance ;  i  e.,  probably,  to  the  r^^Zi^e 
15* 


5  And  they  shall  divide  it  into 
seven  parts  :  ''■  Judah  shall  abide 
in  their  coast  on  the  south,  and 
Hhe  house  of  Joseph  shall  abide 
in  their  coast  on  the  north. 

6  Ye  shall  therefore  describe 


d  ch.  1.5.  1. 


ch.  16.  1,  4. 


of  their  inheritance,  or  the  country 
which  they  were  to  inherit ;  not  of 
their  particular  inheritances,  for 
these  were  afterwards  to  be  assigned 
them  by  lot,  but  of  the  country  in 
general  which  was  to  constitute  their 
inheritance.  This  is  frequently  the 
sense  of  the  Heb.  term  '^5  pi,  mouth, 
as  may  be  seen  by  consulting  Ex.  12. 
4;  16.' 18;  Gen.  43.  7;  Prov.  12.  8. 
The  words  of  Josephus,  in  his  ac- 
count of  this  affair,  give,  as  we  con- 
ceive, very  nearly  the  precise  import 
of  the  original.  '  He  also  gave  them 
a  charge  to  estimate  the  measure  of 
that  part  of  the  land  that  was  most 
fruitful,  and  what  was  not  so  good.' 
Again,  '  Joshua  thought  the  land  for 
the  tribes  should  be  divided  by  esti- 
mation of  its  goodness,  rather  than 
the  largeness  of  its  measure;  it  often 
happening  that  one  acre  of  some  sorts 
of  land  was  equivalent  to  a  thousand 
other  acres.'  Ant.  B.  V.,  ch.  1.  §  21. 
Joshua's  instructions,  therefore,  re- 
quired the  commissioners  to  have  a 
special  eye  to  the  intrinsic  value  of 
the  different  parts  of  the  country,  as 
being  more  or  less  fertile  and  eligible. 
5.  And  they  shall  divide  it.  Or, 
Heb.  Ip^nnn  Mthhalleku,  divide  ye 

it. IT  Judah  shall  abide  in  their 

coast.  In  their  district,  in  their  re- 
gion, Heb.  '  shall  stand  upon  his 
border,'  The  meaning  imdoubtedly 
is,  that  in  this  survey  they  were  not 
to  lake  into  consideration  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  which  was  in  the  sautb,  nor 


174 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


the  land  into  seven  parts,  and 
bring  the  description  hither  to 
me,  'that  I  may  cast  lots  for  you 
here  before  the  Lord  our  God. 

7  ^But  the  Levites  have  no 
part  among  you  ;  for  the  priest- 
hood of  the  Lord  is  their  in- 
heritance. ^  And  Gad,  and  Reu- 
ben, and  half  the  tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  have  received  their 
heritance  beyond  Jordan  on  the 
east,  which  Moses  the  servant 
of  the  Lord  gave  them. 

8  IT  And  the  men  arose,  and 
went  away  :  and  Joshua  charged 
them  that  went  to  describe  the 


f  ch.   14.  2,  and  ver.    lO.-     k  ch.  13.  33. 
b  ch.  13.  8. 


the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
which  were  on  the  north  of  where 
they  now  were,  but  were  carefully  to 
divide  the  remaining  territory  which 
was  not  occupied  by  these  tribes  into 
se\^en  equal  parts.  The  tribes  of 
Judah  and  Joseph  had  been  already 
provided  for ;  let  them  sta?id  by  them- 
selves. The  terms  'norl/i  and  south 
are  here  used  relatively  to  Shiloh, 
rather  than  to  the  actual  position  of 
these  two  tribes. 

6.  Before  the  Lord  our  God.  Be- 
fore the  ark  or  tabernacle,  over 
which  the  symbol  of  the  divine  pre- 
sence rested.  See  on  ch.  3. 11.  The 
transaction  Avas  a  solemn  one,  and 
he  would  have  it  so  performed  as 
that  the  tribes  should  look  upon  their 
possessions,  as  established  to  them  by 
divine  authority.  The  pious  heart 
ever  delights  to  look  upon  God  as 
'  determining  the  bounds  of  our  habi- 
tations ' 

7.  The  Levites  have  no  part  among 
you.     See  on  ch.  13.  14. 

8.  And  Joshua  charged.    Rather. 


land,  saying.  Go,  and  walk 
through  the  land,  and  describe 
it,  and  come  again  to  me,  that  I 
may  here  cast  lots  for  you  be- 
fore the  Lord  in  Shiloh. 

9  And  the  men  went  and  pass- 
ed through  the  land,  and  de- 
scribed it  by  cities  into  seven 
parts  in  a  book,  and  came  again 
to  Joshua  to  the  host  at  Shiloh. 

10  ^  And  Joshua  cast  lots  for 
them  in  Shiloh  before  the  Lord  : 
and  there  Joshua  divided  the 
land  unto  the  children  of  Israel 
according  to  their  divisions. 

11  ir  And  the  lot  of  the  tribe 
of  the  children  of  Benjamin 
came    up    according    to    their 


'  Joshua  had  charged,'  as  we  fmd 
mentioned,  v.  6.  These  words  and 
the  remaining  part  of  the  verse  should 
be  included  in  a  parenthesis. 

9.  Described  it  in  a  book.  Laid  it 
down  on  a  map  or  chart,  accompa- 
nied, perhaps,  with  a  verbal  descrip- 
tion cf  the  leading  features  of  the 
country.  This  is  the  earliest  instance 
of  land-surveying  on  record.  The 
art  was  perhaps  learned  from  the 
Egyptians  ;  for  their  fields  being  an- 
nually overflowed  by  the  Nile,  and 
the  land-marks  swept  away,  they 
would  be  compelled  frequently  to  re- 
survey  them,  in  order  to  adjust  their 

limits. IT  Described    it  by    cities. 

Setting  down  the  most  remarkable 
cities,  with  their  towns  and  villages, 
their  distances  from  each  other,  and 

the    territories    adjacent. IT  And 

came  again  to  Joshua.  According 
to  Josephus,  at  the  end  of  seven 
months. 

10.  According  to  their  divisions. 
According  to  their  respective  appor- 
tionmerits: 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


175 


families  :  and  the  coast  of  their 
lot  came  forth  between  the 
children  of  Judah  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Joseph. 

12  'And  their  border  on  the 
north  side  was  from  Jordan ; 
and  the  border  went  up  to  the 
side  of  Jericho  on  the  north 
side,  and  went  up  through  the 
mountains  westward  ;  and  the 
goings  out  thereof  were  at  the 
wilderness  of  Beth-aven. 

13  And  the  border  went  over 
from  thence  toward  Luz,  to  the 
side  of  Luz  (''which  is  Beth-el) 
southward  ;  and  the  border  de- 
scended to  Ataroth-adar,  near 
the  hill  that  ileth  on  the  south 
side  'of  the  nether  Beth-horon. 

14  And  the  border  was  drawn 
thence^  and  compassed  the  cor- 
ner of  the  sea  southward,  from 
the  hill  that  lieth  before  Beth- 
horon  southward ;  and  the  go- 
ings out  thereof  were  at  '"Kir- 
jath-baal  (which  is  Kirjath- 
jearim)  a  city  of  the  children 
of  Judah.  This  v'cis  the  west 
quarter. 

15  And  the  south  quarter  was 
from  the  end  of  Kirjath-jearim, 
and  the  border  went  out  on  the 
west,  and  went  out  to  "  the  well 
of  waters  of  Nephtoah  : 


See  ch.16.  1. 
1  ch.  16-.  3. 


k  Gen.  28.  19      Judg.  I. 
cli.  15.  9.    "  ch.  15.  9. 


1 1.  And  the  lot — came  up.  That  i.s, 
came  forth  from  the  urn  or  vessel  in 
which  the  lots  were  deposited.  And 
so  by  an  easy  metaphor  it  is  said  im- 
mediately after,  thai '  the  coast  came 
forth,'  because  the  lot  on  which  it 
depended  came  forth.  In  like  man- 
ner it  is  said,  Levit.  16.  9,  '  The  goat 


16  And  the  border  came  down 
to  the  end  of  the  mountain  that 
lieth  before  °the  valley  of  the 
son  of  Hinnom,  and  v,  hich  is  in 
the  valley  of  the  giants  on  the 
north,  and  descended  to  the  val- 
ley of  Hinnom,  to  the  side  of 
Jebusi  on  the  south,  and  de- 
scended to  P  En-rogel, 

17  And  was  drawn  from  the 
north,  and  went  forth  to  En- 
she  mesh,  and  went  forth  toward 
Geliloth,  which  is  over  against 
the  going  up  of  Adummim,  and 
descended  to  "^  the  stone  of  Bo- 
han  the  son  of  Reuben, 

IS  And  passed  along  toward 
the  side  over  against  "Arabah 
northward^  and  went  down  unto 
Arabah : 

19  And  the  border  passed 
along  to  the  side  of  Beth-hogiah 
northward  :  and  the  out-goings 
of  the  border  were  at  the  north 
bay  of  the  salt-sea  at  the  south 
end  of  Jordan.  This  icas  the 
south  coast. 

20  And  Jordan  was  the  border 
of  it  on  the  east  side.  This  was 
the  inheritance  of  the  children 
of  Benjamin,  by  the  coasts  there- 
of round  about,  according  to 
their  families. 

21  Now  the  cities  of  the  tribe 


o  ch.  15.  8.    p  ch.  15.  7.    q  ch.  1.5.  6.    r  ch. 
15.  6. 


upon  which  the  Lord's  lot  fell,  (Heb. 
upon  which  the  Lord's  lot  came  up.'') 

If  Between  the  children  of  Judah 

and  the  children  of  Joseph.  See  on 
Dent.  33.  13.  The  prediction  of  Mo- 
ses in  I'egard  to  the  lot  of  Benjamin 
was  remarkably  fulfilled,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  Note  on  Deut.  33.  12. 


176 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


of  the  children  of  Benjamin  ac- 
cording to  their  families,  were 
Jericho,  and  Beth-hoglah,  and 
the  valley  of  Keziz, 

22  And  Beth-arabah,  and  Ze- 
maraim,  and  Beth-el, 

23  And  Avim,  and  Parah,  and 
Ophrah, 

24  And  Chephar-haammonai, 
and  Ophni,  and  Gaba ;  twelve 
cities  with  their  villages  : 

25  Gibeon,  and  Ramah,  and 
Beeroth, 

26  And  Mizpeh,  and  Chephi- 
rah,  and  Mozah, 

27  And  Rekem,  and  Irpeel, 
and  Taralah, 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

1.   The  second  lot  co.me  forth.     Out 

of  the  urn.     See  on  ch.  18.  11. 

^For  the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Sim- 
eon. Exegetical  of  the  preceding 
word  '  Simeon,'  showing  that  the 
names  of  persons  are  emplo)'ed,  as  we 
have  often  elsewhere  remarked,  in  a 
collective  sense  for  the  political  bod- 
ies, the  tribes,  kingdoms,  or  countries 

of  which  they  are  the  founders. 

IT  Their  inheritance  u-as  icithin  the 
inheritance  of  the  children  of  Judah. 
It  would  seem  that  the  first  rude  sur- 
vey had  led  to  an  errcineous  impres- 
sion of  the  extent  of  the  coimtry. 
They  had  supposed  it  to  be  much 
larger  than  it  really  was.  Under 
this  impression  they  had  assigned  a 
large  territory  to  Judah,  taking  it  for 
granted  that  the  lots  of  the  other 
tribes  w^ould  be  in  the  same  propor- 
tion. But  upon  closer  examination 
it  was  found  that  at  that  rate  of  as- 
signment the  land  would  not  hold 
out,  and  some  of  the  tribes  must  be 
very  much  scanted  or  left  wholly 
destitute  of  their  just  inheritance. 


28  And  Zelah,  Eleph,  and 
'Jebusi,  (which  is  Jerusalem) 
Gibeath,  and  Kirjath  ;  fourteen 
cities  w^ith  their  villages.  This 
is  the  inheritance  of  the  children 
of  Benjamin  according  to  their 
families. 


A 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

ND  the  second  lot  came 
forth  to  Simeon,  even  for 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Sim- 
eon according  to  their  families  : 
■"and  their  inheritance  was  with- 
in the  inheritance  of  the  children 
of  Judah. 


ch.  15. 


a  ver.  9. 


The  obvious  expedient  was  to  take 
a  part  of  the  territory  of  Judah  and 
allot  it  to  Simeon.  The  inheritance 
of  this  tribe  therefore  is  said  to  have 
fallen  within  the  inheritance  of  Ju- 
dah, because  it  was  included  within 
the  original  limits  of  the  latter  tribe, 
and  is  elsewhere  seldom  or  never 
spoken  of  as  a  distinct  district.  In 
this  arrangement  the  providence  of 
God  is  to  be  especially  noted,  as  Ja- 
cob, in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  hnd 
foretold  that  Simeon  and  Levi  should 
be  '  divided  in  Jacob,  and  scattered 
in  Israel.'  Gen.  49.  7.  This  was 
accordingly  most  literally  fulfilled 
in  the  manner  in  which  these  tribes 
were  no%v  disposed  of.  Levi  was 
'  scattered  '  throughout  all  the  land, 
not  having  received  any  distinct  in- 
heritance, but  only  certain  '  cities  to 
dwell  in ;'  and  Simeon,  as  we  here 
learn,  was  '  divided,'  or  dispersed 
over  the  territories  of  Judah  instead 
of  having  one  of  their  own.  This 
arrangement  brought  them  into  con- 
federacy with  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
Jttd?.  1  3.  and  afterwards  was  tbe 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTEll  XIX. 


177 


2  And  ^  they  had  in  their  in- 
heritance, Beer-sheba,  and  She- 
ba,  and  Moladah, 

3  And  Hazar-shual,  and  Ba- 
lah,  and  Azem, 

4  And  Eltolad,  and  Bethul, 
and  Hormah, 

5  And  Ziklag,  and  Beth-mar- 
caboth,  and  Hazar-susah, 

6  And  Beth-lebaoth,  and  Sha- 
ruhen ;  thirteen  cities  and  their 
villages  : 

7  Ain,  Remmon,  and  Ether, 
and  Ashan  ;  four  cities  and  their 
villages  : 

.b  1  Chron.  4.  2S. 


occasion  of  the  adherence  of  many 
of  this  tribe  to  the  house  of  David  at 
the  time  of  the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes 
to  Jeroboam.  2  Chron.  15.  9,  '  Out 
of  Simeon  they  fell  to  Asa  in  abun- 
dance.' 

2.  Beersheba,  Sheba.  Heb.  '  Beer- 
sheba  and  (or  even)  Sheba.'  That 
one  and  the  same  city  is  designated 
by  both  these  names,  is  clear  from  the 
fact  that  otherwise  there  Avould  have 
been  fourleen  cities  instead  of  thir- 
teen. Besides,  in  1  Chron.  4.  28, 
where  Simeon's  cities  are  enumera- 
ted, the  mention  of  Sheba  is  omitted 
as  superfluous.  As  to  the  import  of 
these  names,  see  on  Gen.  21.  31,  32. 
In  the  description  of  the  lots  of  Ju- 
dah  and  Benjamin,  an  account  is 
given  both  of  ihe  limits  by  which 
they  were  bounded  and  of  the  cities 
contained  in  them.  In  that  of 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh  the  bounda- 
ries are  given,  but  not  the  cities.  In 
this  chapter  Simeon  and  Dan  are  de- 
scribed by  their  cities  only,  and  not 
by  their  borders,  because  they  were 
small,  and  the  former  lay  within  the 
liinits  of  another  tribe.      The  rest 


8  And  all  the  villages  that 
were  round  about  these  cities  to 
Baalath-beer,  Ramath  of  the 
south.  This  is  the  inheritance 
of  the  tribe  of  the  children  of 
Simeon  according  to  their  fami- 
lies. 

9  Out  of  the  portion  of  the 
children  of  Jtidah  v:as  the  in- 
heritance of  the  children  of  Sim- 
eon :  for  the  part  of  the  child- 
ren of  Judah  was  too  much  for 
them  :  "  therefore  the  children 
of  Sirneon  had  their  inheritance 
within  the  inheritance  of  them. 

c  ver.  1. 


have   both   their  borders  described, 
and  their  cities  named. 

9.  The  part  of  tJie  children  of  Ju- 
dah %i:as  too  much  for  them.  Too 
large  in  proportion  to  the  other  tribes, 
and  too  large  for  their  actual  neces- 
sities; although,  as  being  the  most 
numerous  of  all  the  tribes,  it  might 
justly  claim  a  more  extensive  terri- 
tory than  any  of  the  rest.  Yet  when 
it  was  found  that  they  could  not  in- 
sist upon  the  original  allotment  with- 
out manifest  injustice  to  the  other 
tribes,  the  men  of  Judah  submitted 
without  a  murmur  to  relinquish  a 
part  of  their  possession.  They  will 
lake  no  advantage  of  an  unintention- 
al error  by  withholding  that  which 
equity  and  kindness  would  require 
I  hem  to  give  up.  The  same  gener- 
ous principle  will  operate  in  like 
manner  with  every  good  man.  If 
he  has  chanced,  through  the  inadver- 
tency or  mistake  of  another,  to  gain 
an  undue  advantage  in  a  contract, 
he  will  cheerfull}^  waive  his  right 
and  make  all  the  concessions  which, 
in  similar  circumstances,  he  would 
wish  to  have  made  to  himself     He 


178 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


10  IF  And  the  third  lot  came 
up  for  the  children  of  Zebulun 
according  to  their  families  :  and 
the  border  of  their  inheritance 
was  unto  Sarid : 

11  ''And  their  border  went  up 
toward  the  sea,  and  Maralah, 
and  reached  to  Dabbasheth,  and 
reached  to  the  river  that  is  '^  be- 
fore Jokneam, 

12  And  turned  from  Sarid 
eastward,  toward  the  sun-rising, 
unto  the  border  of  Chisloth-ta- 
bor,  and  then  goeth  out  to  Da- 
bereth,  and  goeth  up  to  Japhia, 

13  And  from  thence  passeth 
on  along  on  the  east  to  Gittah- 
hepher,  to  Ittah-kazin,  and  go- 
eth out  to  Remmon-methoar  to 
Neah  ; 

14  And  the  border  compasseth 
it  on  the  north  side  to  Hanna- 
thon  :  and  the  out-ooino;s  there- 
of  are  in  the  valley  of  Jiph- 
thah-el : 

15  And  Kattath,  and  NahallaL 
and  Shimron,  and  Idalah,  and 
Beth-lehem  ;  twelve  cities  with 
their  villages. 

16  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  children  of  Zebulun  accord- 

d  Gen.  49.  13.    e  eh.  12.  22. 


will,  as  the  apostle  enjoins,  look  upon 
the  things  of  others,  as  well  as  upon 
his  own. 

10.  The  third  lot  came  up  for  the 
children  of  Zebulun.  Though  Zeb- 
ulun was  younger  than  Issachar,  yet 
both  in  the  prophetic  blessing  ot^  Ja- 
cob and  of  Moses  he  came  before 
him,  and  in  like  manner  he  has  the 
precedency  here  also  in  the  allotment 
of  his  inheritance,  Prcrvidence  is 
wonderful  in  its  correspondence  with 
prophecy.    The  lot  of  this  tribe  was 


ing  to  their  families,  these  cities 
with  their  villages. 

17  IF  And  the  fourth  lot  came 
out  to  Issachar,  for  the  children 
of  Issachar  according  to  their 
families. 

18  And  their  border  was  to- 
ward Jezreel,  and  Chesulloth, 
and  Shun  em, 

19  And  Hapharaim,  and  Shi- 
hon,  and  Anaharath, 

20  And  Rabbith,  and  Kishion, 
and  Abez, 

21  And  Remeth,  and  En-gan- 
nim,  and  En-haddah,  and  Beth- 
pazzez  ; 

22  And  the  coast  reacheth  to 
Tabor,  and  Shahazimah,  and 
Beth-shemesh  ;  and  the  out-go- 
ings of  their  border  were  af 
Jordan  :  sixteen  cities  with  theij 
villages. 

23  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Is- 
sachar according  to  their  fami- 
lies, the  cities  and  their  villages 

24  IT  And  the  fifth  lot  came 
out  for  the  tribe  of  the  children 
of  Asher  according  to  their  fam- 
ilies. 

25  And  their  border  was  Hel- 


washed  by  the  Mediterranean  on  the 
west,  and  by  the  sea  of  Galilee  on 
the  east,  agreeably  to  Jacob's  predic- 
tion, Gen.  49. 13,  that  Zebulun  should 
be  'a  haven  of  ships.' 

15.  Belh-lehcm.  A  place  Ijirg  at 
a  great  distance  to  the  north  of  the 
Beth-lehem  in  Judah  where  our  Lord 
was  born. 

25.  And  their  border.  The  word 
'  border  '  or  '  boundary  '  both  here 
and  in  what  follows,  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood simply  of  the  boundary  liae. 


B   C.  1444.J 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


179 


kath,  and  Hali,  and  Betsn,  and 
Achsaph, 

26- And  Alammelech,  and  A- 
mad,  and  Misheal ;  and  reach- 
eth  to  Carmel  westward,  and  to 
Shihor-libnath  ; 

27  And  tarneth  toward  the 
sun-rising  to  Beth-dagon,  and 
reacheth  to  Zebulun,  and  to  the 
valley  of  Jiphthah-el  toward  the 
north  side  of  Beth-emek,  and 
Neiel,  and  goeth  out  to  Cabul  on 
the  left  hand, 

28  And  Hebron,  and  Rehob, 
and  Hammon,and  Kanah,  ^ even 
unto  great  Zidon  ; 

29  And  then  the  coast  turneth 
to  Namah,  and  to  the  strong  ci- 
ty "  Tyre  ;  and  the  coast  turneth 
to  Hosah :  and  the  out-goings 
thereof  are  at  the  sea  from  the 
coast  t-o  ''  Achzil) : 

30  Ummah  also,  and  Aphek, 
and  Rehob :  twenty  and  two 
cities  with  their  villages. 

f  ch.  11.  8.  Judg.  1.  31.  -  2  Sam.  5.  11. 
h  Gen.  33.  5.    Jud?.  1.  31.    Mic.  1.  14. 


but  also  of  all  the  towns  and  lands 
which  it  embraces.  It  might  be  ren- 
dered, '  district '  or  '  territory.' 

30.  Twenty  and  two  cities.  The 
above  enumeration  gives  us  nearly 
thirty  cities  instead  of  twenty-two,  but 
probably  several  are  mentioned  which 
were  only  frontier  towns,  sometimes 
reckoned  as  belonging  to  one  tribe, 
and  sometimes  to  another,  or  perhaps 
some  of  the  appendant  villages  are 
named,  as  well  as  the  towns. 

34.  To  Jndah  upon  Jordan.  How 
this  is  to  be  understood  is  not  clear. 
It  is  certain  that  the  tribe  of  Naph- 
tali  did  not  border  on  the  east  nor  in 
any  other  direction,  upon  Judah,  for 
there  were  several  tribes  that  lay  be- 


31  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Asher 
according  to  their  families,  these 
cities  with  their  villages. 

32  IT  The  sixth  lot  came  out 
to  the  children  of  Naphtali,  even 
for  the  children  of  Naphtali  ac- 
cording to  their  families. 

33  And  their  coast  was  from 
Heleph,  from  Alton  to  Zaanan- 
nim,  and  Adami,  Nekeb,  and 
Jabneel,  unto  Lakum  ;  and  the 
out-goings  thereof  were  at  Jor- 
dan : 

34  And  then  '  the  coast  turneth 
westward  to  Aznoth-tabor,  and 
goeth  out  from  thence  to  Huk- 
kok,  and  reacheth  to  Zebulun 
on  the  south  side,  and  reacheth 
to  Asher  on  the  w^est  side,  and 
to  Judah  upon  Jordan  toward 
the  sun-rising. 

35  And  the  fenced  cities  are 
Ziddim,  Zer,  and  Hammath, 
Rakkath,  and  Cinneroth, 

i  Dent.  33.  23. 


tween  them.  Both  tribes,  however, 
were  bounded  by  the  Jordan  on  the 
east,  and  they  might  be  considered 
as  in  some  sort  conjoined  by  the  easy 
communication  with  each  other  by 
means  of  that  river.  This  we  deem 
the  only  plausible  interpretation  of 
the  passage,  and  thus  under.stood  it 
goes  strikingly  to  illustrate  the  ob- 
scure prediction  of  Moses,  Deut.  33. 
23,  that  Naphtali  should  '  possess  the 
west  and  the  south,'  i.  e.  that  although 
his  settlement  should  be  in  the  west 
or  northwest,  yet  by  means  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Jordan,  he  should 
avail  himself  of  the  advantages  of 
traffic  with  all  the  southern  section 
of  the  land. 


180 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


36  And  Adamah,  and  Ramah, 
and  Hazor, 

37  And  Kedesh,  and  Edrei, 
and  En-hazor, 

38  And  Iron,  and  Migdal-el, 
Horem,  and  Beth-anath,  and 
Beth-shemesh  ;  nineteen  cities 
with  their  villages. 

39  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of 
Naphtali  according  to  their  fam- 
ilies, the  cities  and  their  villages. 

40  IT  And  the  seventh  lot  came 
out  for  the  tribe  of  the  children 
of  Dan  according  to  their  fami- 
lies. 

41  And  the  coast  of  their  in- 
heritance was  Zorah,  and  Esh- 
taol,  and  Ir-shemesh, 

42  And  ^  Shaalabbin,  and  Aja- 
lon,  and  Jethlath, 

43  And  Elon,  and  Thimnathah, 
and  Ekron, 

44  And  Eltekeh,  and  Gibbe- 
thon,  and  Baalath, 

j  Judg.  1.  35. 


47.  The  coast  of  the  children  of  Dan 
went  out  too  little  for  them.  Heb. 
Sn^  i^jZ"^  yetze  mehem,  went  out  from 
them ;  i.  e.  out  of  their  hands,  out  of 
their  possession.  A  similar  nsage 
of  the  Heb.  verb  occurs  Lev.  25.  28- 
33,  where  the  lands  in  the  year  of 
the  jubilee  are  said  to  '  go  out ;'  i.  e. 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  present  pos- 
sessor, to  the  original  owner.  The 
meaning  here  undoubtedly  is,  that 
the  Danites,  being  closely  pressed 
upon  by  their  powerful  neighbors  the 
Philistines,  were  forced  in  considera- 
ble numbers  to  abandon  their  alloUed 
possessions.  In  consequence  of  hav- 
ing their  original  portion  thus  wrest- 
ed out  of  their  hands,  ihey  were  in- 


45  And  Jehnd,  and  Bene-be- 
rak,  and  Gath-rimmon, 

46  And  Me-jarkon,  and  Rak- 
kon,  with  the  border  before  "^  Ja- 
pho. 

47  And  '  the  coast  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Dan  went  out  too  little 
for  them  :  therefore  the  children 
of  Dan  went  up  to  fight  against 
Leshem,  and  took  it,  and  smote 
it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
and  possessed  it,  and  dwelt 
therein,  and  called  Leshem, 
"'Dan,  after  the  name  of  Dan 
their  ffither. 

48  This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  tribe  of  the  children  of  Dan 
according  to  their  families,  these 
cities  with  their  villages. 

49  V.  When  they  had  made  an 
end  of  dividing  the  land  for  in- 
heritance by  their  coasts,  the 
children  of  Israel  gave  an  in- 
heritance to  Joshua  the  son  of 
Nun  among  them  : 

k  Acts  9.  35.    1  Jucl?.  18.    m  Juds.  IS.  29. 


duced  to  seek  another  in  a  distant 
quarter  of  the  land,  and  made  an  in- 
road accordingly  upon  Leshem,  ly- 
ing at  the  foot  of  mount  Lebanon  and 
near  the  sources  of  the  river  Jordan. 
This  event,  which  occurred  some 
time  after  the  death  of  Joshua,  and 
is  more  fully  recorded,  Judg.  18.  1- 
29,  is  touched  upon  here  both  to 
complete  what  is  said  of  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  Danites,  and  to  intimate 
how  it  happened,  that  a  part  of  the 
tribe  were  afterwards  found  inhabit- 
ing a  district  of  the  country  so  remote 

j  from  their  original  possessions.  This 
addition  to  the  nanutive  was  perliaps 
made  by  Phineas. 

I      49.   The  children  of  Israel  gave  an 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER   XX. 


]S1 


50  According  to  the  word  of 
the  Lord  they  gave  him  the  ci- 
ty which  he  asked,  eveji  "Tim- 
nath-^serah  in  mount  Ephraim  : 
and  he  built  the  city,  and  dwelt 
therein. 

51  P  These  are  the  inheritances 
which  Eleazer  the  priest,  and 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  and  the 
heads  of  the  fathers  of  the  tribes 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  divided 

n  ch.  24.  30.  0  1  Chron.  7.  24.  p  Num. 
34.  17.     ch.  14.  1. 


inheritance  to  Joshua.  As  it  is  said 
immediately  afterwards,  v.  50,  that 
Joshua  receiv' ed  his  inheritance  '  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  the  Lord,'  it 
could  be  considered  no  otherwise  the 
gift  of  the  people,  than  as  they  cheer- 
fully acquiesced  in  the  assignment, 
and  were  glad  of  an  opportunity  of 
thus  testifying,  by  their  hearty  con- 
currence, their  affeclion  for  their  ven- 
erable leader  and  their  interest  in  his 
comfortable  settlement  in  his  old  age. 
On  his  part,  he  evinced  a  striking 
moderation  and  disinterestedness, 
and  propo.sed  a  noble  example  to  all 
in  public  places,  in  making  no  pro- 
vision for  himself  till  he  saw  all  the 
tribes  fixed  in  their  respective  inher- 
itances. This  was  acting  in  the  true 
spirit  of  a  public  servant — to  prefer 
the  general  welfare  to  his  private 
convenience,  ease,  or  emolument. 
So  the  servants  of  Christ,  while  they 
fully  appreciate  and  ardently  covet 
an  inheritance  in  the  Canaan  above, 
will  deem  it  soon  enough  to  enter  vi^- 
on  it  when  they  have  done  all  in  their 
power  towards  bringing  others  to 
partake  of  the  same  glorious  posses- 
sion. 

50.  According  to   the  word  of  the 
Lord.     According  to  the  promise  of 
16 


for  an  inheritance  by  lot  '^in  Shi- 
loh  before  the  Lord,  at  the  door 
of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congre- 
gation. So  they  made  an  end 
of  dividing  the  country. 

CHAPTER   XX. 

THE  Lord  also  spake  unto 
Joshua,  saying, 
2  Speak  to  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, saying,  '"^  Appoint  out  for 
you  cities  of  refuge,  whereof  I 

q  ch.  IS.  1,  10.      a  Exod.  21.  13.     Numb. 
35.  6,  11,  14.     Deut  19.  2,  9. 


the  Lord  ;  made  probably  at  the  same 
time  that  a  particular  inheritance 
was  promised  to  Caleb.  This  is  to 
be  inferred  from  Caleb's  words,  ch. 
14.  6,  who  in  speaking  to  Joshua 
says,  '  Thou  knowest  the  things  that 
the  Lord  said  unto  Moses  the  man 
of  God  concerning  me  and  thee  in 
Kadesh-barnea.'  As  Joshua  had,  on 
the  occasion  referred  to,  evinced 
equal  courage  and  fidelity  with  Ca- 
leb, it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
he  received  the  same  tokens  of  the 

divine    approbation. IT  Timnath- 

serah.  Called  Timnath-heres,  Judg. 
2.  9,  where  we  learn  that  the  name 
of  the  mountain  on  which  it  stood 
was  Gaash.     It  was  here  that  Joshua 

was  buried,  ch.  24.  30. H  He  built 

the  city.  Repaired  it,  put  it  in  order, 
perhaps  enlarged  and  adorned  it.  In 
this  sense  Nebuchadnezzar  is  said, 
Dan.  4.  30,  '  to  have  built  Babylon.' 

51.  Thes".  are  the  inheritances^  &.C.. 
This  verse  is  inserted  as  a  general 
conclusion  to  all  that  has  been  thus 
far  said  of  the  distribution  of  the 
land  among  the  several  tribes.  The 
writer  now  turns  to  another  subject. 


CHAPTER   XX. 
2.  Appoint  out  for  ijottr  cities  of 


182 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


spake  unto  }  ou  by  the  hand  of  j  they  shall  be  your  refuge  from 
Moses  : 

3  That  the  slayer  that  killeth 
any  person  unawares  and  unwit- 
tingly  may   flee    thither :    and 


the  avenger  of  blood. 

4  And  when  he  that  doth  flee 
unto  one  of  those  cities  shall 
stand  -at  the   entering   of   *"  the 

b  Rulh  4.  1. 2. 


refuge.  Heb.  ti«))  i:n  ieim  lakcm,  \ 
give  for  yourselves.  No  delinquency 
on  the  part  of  Joshua  is  to  be  inferred 
from  this  command,  as  if  he  had 
neglected,  or  were  likely  to  neglect, 
a  very  important  part  of  the  arrange- 
ments designed  to  be  carried  into 
effect  after  the  settlement  of  Israel 
in  Canaan.  He  was  well  aware  of 
the  divine  intention  in  this  respect, 
and  would  doubtless  have  aeled  upon 
it,  as  w^ell  as  upon  every  other  order 
with  which  he  was  charged,  bui  God 
saw^  fit  to  interpose  to  remind  him 
that  noio  was  the  precise  time,  when 
the  tribes  had  just  received  their  in- 
heritances, and  while  they  were  yet 
together,  to  separate  the  cities  of  re- 
fuge for  the  uses  for  which  they  were 
intended,  and  respecting  which  such 
copious  instructions  had  been  before 
given,  Num.  35.  11-34;  Deut.  19. 
2-10.  To  the  notes  on  these  passages 
the  reader  is  referred  for  a  fuller  ac- 
count of  the  nature  and  object  of  this 
institution.  It  was  an  essential  ap- 
pendage to  the  patriarchal  system 
of  government,  as  far  as  the  avenging 
of  blood  was  concerned.  It  has  been 
already  remarked,  that  the  nearest  of 
kin  to  a  deceased  person  had  not  only 
the  right  of  redeeming  an  inherit- 
ance that  had  been  forfeited  or  alien- 
ated, but  had  also  authority  to  slay 
on  the  spot  the  person  who  had  slain 
his  relative.  But  as  a  man  might 
casually  kill  another  against  whom 
he  had  no  ill  will,  and  with  whom 
he  had  no  quarrel,  and  might  thus 


be  liable  to  lose  his  own  life  unde* 
servedly,  at  the  hands  of  the  atenger 
of  blood,  these  privileged  cities  were 
wisely  and  humanely  appointed  for 
the  protection  of  those  who  had  com- 
mitted accidental  homicide,  till  the 
cause  could  receive  a  judicial  hear- 
ing from  the  magistrate.  They  had 
authority,  according  as,  upon  strict 
examination,  they  found  him  guilty 
or  not  of  wilful  murder,  to  deliver 
him  up  to  the  avenger  of  blood,  or, 
after  the  lapse  of  a  certain  lime,  to 

grant  him  a  discharge.- IT  By  the 

hand  of  Moses.  By  the  agency,  by 
the  ministry  of  Moses :  by  him  as  an 
organ  of  communication, 

3.  The  slayer  that  Hlleth  any  per' 
son.  Heb.  TTt;]  h-JQ  makkeh  nephesh, 
that  smifeth  (i.  e.  fatally)  any  soul. 
On  this  frequent  sense  of  the  word 

'  soul,'  see  Note  on  Gen.  12.  5. 

IT  Unawares  and  unwitlingly.  Heb. 
ri53^^  bishgagah,  through  ignorance, 
error,  and  mistake,  and  wilhuut  knoic- 
ledge.  The  conditions  are  stated 
with  the  utmost  explicitness,  in  words 
amounting  almost  to  repetition,  as  is 
evidently  proper  where  a  matter  of 
so  much  consequence  as  the  life  of  a 
human  being  is  concerned.  In  cases 
of  wilful  murder,  no  place  whatever 
could  afford  protection.  A  man 
might  be  taken  even  from  the  temple, 
or  the  horns  of  the  altar.  Es.  21.  14; 
2  Kings  2.  31,  34. 

4.  Shall  stand  at  the  entering  of  the 
gate.  The  usual  place  of  judicature 
among  the  people  of  the  East. 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


183 


gate  of  the  city,  and  shall  de- 
clare his  cause  in  the  ears  of  the 
elders  of  that  city,  they  shall 
take  him  into  the  city  unto  them, 
and  give  him  a  place,  that  he 
may  dwell  among  them. 

5  "  And  if  the  avenger  of  blood 
pursue  after  him,  then  they 
shall  not  deliver  the  slayer  up 
into  his  hand  ;  because  he  smote 
his  neighbor  unwittingly,  and 
hated  him  not  before-time. 

6  And  he  shall  dwell  in  that 
city,  '^  until  he  stand   before  the 

c  Num.  35.  12.     a  Num.  35.  12,  25. 

TT  Shall  declare  his  cause.  Shall  give 
a  true,  honest,  and  exact  statement 
of  all  the  circumstances  under  which 

the    accident   occurred. IT  The;/ 

shall  take  him  into  the  city.  Heb. 
iriii  1t)D;^  asephu  otho,  shall  gather 
him.  Provided  they  are  satisfied, 
from  his  relation  of  the  facts,  that  he 

Is  innocent, ^\  That  he  may  dwell 

among  them.  It  may  be  asked  why, 
if  the  proper  judges  were  satisfied  of 
his  innocence  of  the  crime  of  wilful 
murder,  he  were  not  at  once  dismiss- 
ed from  their  jurisdiction,  and  suf- 
fered to  go  at  large  as  usual.  The 
proper  reply  doubtless  is,  (1)  That 
he  might  still  be  in  danger  from  the 
enraged  passions  of  the  pursuer.  (2) 
He  was  to  await  the  issue  of  another 
trial,  V.  6.  (3)  His  detention  was 
probably  designed  as  somewhat  of 
a  punishment  for  the  rashness  or 
heedlessness  to  which  the  homicide 
was  owing.  Something  of  a  penalty 
was  to  be  paid  for  careles.sness,  as 
well  as  for  crime. 

6.  Until  he  stand  before  the  congre- 
gation for  jud^Tnent.  In  order  to  a 
still  greater  security  for  the  interests 
of  justice,   and  to  guard  with   the 


congregation  for  judgment,  and 
until  the  death  of  the  high  priest 
that  shall  be  in  those  days  ;  then 
shall  the  slayer  return,  and  come 
unto  his  own  city,  and  unto  his 
own  house,  unto  tiie  city  from 
whence  he  fled. 

7  TF  And  they  appointed  ^  Ke- 
desh  in  Galilee  in  mount  Naph- 
tali,  and  '^Shechem  in  mount 
Ephraim,  and  -Kirjath-arba, 
(which  is  Hebron)  in  ''the 
mountain  of  Judah. 

e  ch.  21.  32.  1  Chron.  6.  76.  f  ch.  21.  21. 
2  Chron.  10.  1.  s  ch.  14.  15,  and  21.  11, 13. 
h  Luke  1.  39. 


Utmost  vigilance  against  a  wrong 
decision,  another  hearing  seems  to 
have  been  appointed,  after  a  consi- 
derable intervalj  and  before  a  larger 
court,  whose  verdict  was  to  be  final 
in  the  case.  It  is  probable  that  the 
'  congregation  '  here  spoken  of  was 
that  of  his  own  city,  or  of  the  people 
at  large,  who  were  also  allowed  to 
constitute  a  tribunal,  and  to  sit  in 
judgment    on  the   case.      Compare 

Notes  on  Num.  35.  25. ^l  Until  the 

death  of  the  high  priest.  See  on  Num. 
35.  25. 

7.  And  they  appointed.  Heb, 
I'lDnp'i  yalcdishu,  sanctified,  conse- 
crated; a  term  implying  the  peculiar 
sacredmess  which  God  would  have 
attached  in  the  minds  of  his  people 
to  this  institution.  Accordingly  they 
are  sometimes,  though  not  perhaps 
by  the  sacred  writers,  called  sanctu- 
aries.  IT  In  mount  Naphtali.    Or, 

Heb.  *  in  the  mountain,'  i.  e.  the 
mountainous  region  or  district  of 
Naphtali ;  and  so  in  respect  to  the 
two  other  places  mentioned.  They 
were  situated  on  high  hills  that  they 
might  be  more  conspicuous  at  a  dis- 
tance.    It  may  also  be  remarked  of 


184 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


8  And  on  the  other  side  Jor- 
dan by  Jericho  eastward,  they 
assigned  'Bezer  in  the  wilder- 
ness upon  the  plain  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Reuben,  and ''Ramoth 
in  Gilead  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Gad,  and  'Golan  in  Bashan  out 
of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh. 

9  "'These  w^ere  the  cities  ap- 
pointed for  all  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  for  the  stranger  that 
sojourneth  among  them,  that 
whosoever  killeth  any  person  at 
unawares  might  flee  thither,  and 
not  die  by  the  hand  of  the  aven- 

1  Deut.  4.  43.  ch.  21.  36.  1  Chron.  6.  78. 
k  ch.  21.  38.  1  Kings  22.  3.  I  ch.  21.  27. 
in  Is'um.  35.  15. 

these  cities,  (1)  That  they  were  lo- 
cated at  convenient  distances  from 
each  o'lher  for  the  benefit  of  the  sev- 
eral tribes.  So  of  those  here  men- 
tioned, Kedesh  was  in  the  northern, 
Shechem  in  the  central,  and  Hebron 
in  the  southern  district  of  Canaan. 
(2)  They  were  all  Levilical  cities ; 
which  appears  to  have  been  so  order- 1 
ed,  that  the  cases  of  manslaughter 
might  come  under  the  cognizance  of 
those  who  might  be  presumed  to  be 
most  thoroughly  versed  in  the  law 
of  God,  and  most  competent  to  give 
judgment  according  to  it,  and  who. 
moreover,  would  be  less  likely  than 
any  others  to  be  swayed  by  private 
bias  in  their  decisions.  Compare 
Deut.  21.  5,  where  it  is  said  of  the 
priests,  the  sons  of  Levi,  that  -by  their 
word  shall  every  controversy  and 
every  stroke  be  tried,'  See  also  to 
the  same  purpose,  Deut.  17.  8-13,  and 
the  Nolcs  on  Deut.  33.  9,  10. 

8.  They  aisigned.  Or,  '  had  as- 
signed,' for  the  assignment  had  been 
previously  made  by  Moses,  Deut.  4. 
41-43 ;  or  the  meaning  may  be,  that 


ger    of  blood,   "until  he    stood 
before  the  congregation. 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

THEN  came  near  the  heads 
of  the  fathers  of  the  Le- 
vites  unto  ^Eleazar  the  priest, 
and  unto  Joshua  the  son  of  iSun, 
and  unto  the  heads  of  the  fathers 
of  the  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel ; 

2  And  they  spake  unto  them 
at  ''Shiloh  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
saying,  ""  The-  Lord  commanded 
by  the  hand  of  Moses  to  give  us 

11  ver.  G.  a  ch.  14.  1,  and  17.  4.  b  ch.  18. 
1.     c  Num.  35.  2. 


they  formally  acknowledged,  con- 
firmed, and  ratified  the  selection  that 
Moses  had  before  made  of  these 
cities. 

9.  Until  he  stood  before  the  congic- 
gation.  The  judges  and  elders  of 
the  people,  in  trying  civil  and  crimi- 
nal causes,  always  sat;  the  persons 
who  came  for  judgmentpor  Avho  were 
tried,  always  stood.  Hence  the  ex- 
pressions so  frequent  in  the  Scripture, 
'  Standing  before  the  Lord,  before 
the  judges,  before  the  elders,'  &c. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1.  The  heads  of  the  fathers  of  the 
Levites.  The  most  distinguished  per- 
sons among  the  fathers,  chiefs,  or 
elder.s  of  the  three  families  of  Kohalh, 
Gershom,  and  Merari,  which  con- 
stituted the  Uody  of  the  tribe  of  Levi. 
They  here  make  their  petition  pre- 
cisely at  the  time  when  it  could  be 
most  convenientl}'-  granted,  viz.  just 
after  the  allotments  had  been  made 
to  the  other  tribes.  Whether  this 
was  prior  or  subsequent  to  the  desig- 
nation of  the  cities  of  refuge,  men- 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


185 


cities  to  dwell  in,  with  the  sub- 
urbs thereof  for  our  cattle. 

3  And  the   children   of  Israel 
oave  unto  the   Levites  out  of 


their 


inheritance,   at  the  com- 


mandment of  the   Lord,  these 
cities  and  their  suburbs. 
4  And  the  lot  came  out  for  the 

tioned  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  it  is 
not  possible  to  determine. 

3.  The  cliildren  of  Israel  gave  unto 
the  Levites.  They  cheerfull}' obeyed 
the  divine  command.  They  gave 
them  cities  out  of  their  several  in- 
heritances, without  any  fear  of  being 
impoverished  by  the  appropriation. 
Kor  will  men  ever  find  themselves 
sulferers  in  their  temporal  interests, 
in  consequence  of  a  liberal  allowance 
to  the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary. 
These  ciiies  were  assigned  by  lot, 
that  it  might  fully  appear  that  God 
designed  the  Levites  their  habitations, 
as  he  designed  the  others  their  inher- 
itances. The  result  of  this  arrange-' 
ment  would  naturally  be,  that  the 
Levites  would  be  dispersed  in  every 
part  of  the  land,  to  instruct  the  peo- 
ple in  the  knowledge  of  the  divine 
law,  to  edify  them  by  their  example, 
to  restrain  them  from  idolatry,  and 
prompt  them  to  a  constant  adherence 
to  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  the  only 
true  God.  Thus  the  prophetic  sen- 
tence of  the  patriarch,  Gen.  49.  7, 
that  they  should  be  '  divided  in  Ja- 
cob, and  scattered  in  Israel,'  though 
originally  carrying  with  it  a  punitive 
import,  was  through  the  special 
mercy  of  heaven  converted  to  a  bless- 
ing to  themselves  and  to  the  nation. 

^    These    cities.      Referring    to 

those  which  are  enumerated  in  the 
sequel  of  this  chapter. 

4  And  the  lot  came  out.  It  r^'ould 
16* 


families  of  the  Kohathites  :  and 
"^the  children  of  Aaron  the 
priest,  w/«*c^  were  of  the  Levites, 
•"had  by  lot  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  and  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Simeon,  and  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  thirteen  cities. 

d  ver.  8  19.     e  See  ch.  24.  33. 


seem  that  a  certain  number  of  cities 
were  previously  designated  and  set 
apart  en  masse,  as  the  habitations  of 
the  Levites,  and  that  the  particular 
appropriation  of  them  to  the  several 
families  and  their  branches  was  then 

determined  by  lot. ^The children 

of  Aaron  the  priest.  All  the  Kohath- 
iies  were  children  of-Aaron,  in  being 
lineally  descended  from  hjm,  bttt  they 
were  not  all  priests;  whereas  the 
phrase  '  children  of  Aaron '  here  is 
but  another  name  for  the  priests,  his 
successors  in  office;  and  these  had 
their  allotment  of  cities  in  the  tribes 
of  Judah,  Simeon,  and  Benjamin; 
the  rest,  who  were  merely  Levites 
and  not  priests,  had  their  lot,  as  ap- 
pears from  V.  5,  in  the  tribes  of 
Ephraim,  Dan,  and  the  half-tribe  of 
Manas.'-eh.  The  providence  of  God 
in  this  assignment  is  very  remarka- 
ble, as  in  consequence  of  it  the 
pricsUy  part  of  Aaron's  posterity, 
who  were  the  stated  ministers  of  the 
sanctuary,  the  seat  of  which  was 
afterwards  to  be  fixed  at  Jerusalem, 
had  their  location  nearest  to  that  city, 
so  that  they  were  always  conveniently 
situated  with  reference  to  the  work 

to  which  they  were   appointed. 

fF  Thirteen  cities.  This  was  a  large 
proportion  for  the  present  number 
of  priests,  which  was  small,  but  in 
view  of  the  prospective  increase  of 
this  body,  and  their  future  wants,  it 
was   no   more   than  was  requisite. 


186 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


5  And  '^the  rest  of  the  children 
of  Kohath  had  by  lot  out  of  the 
families  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
and  out  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  and 
out  of  the  half  tribe  of  Manas- 
seh,  ten  cities. 

6  And  "the  children  of  Ger- 
shon  had  by  lot  out  of  the  fami- 
lies of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  and 
out  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  and 
out  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  and 
out  of  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh 
in  Bashan,  thirteen  cities. 

7  ''The  children  of  Merari  by 
their  families  had  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Reuben,  and  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Gad,  and  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Zebulun,  twelve  cities. 

8  'And  the  children  of  Israel 
gave  by  lot   unto   the    Levites 


f  \er.    £0,  &c. 
&c-     1  ver.  3. 


g  ver.  27,  &c. 


ver  34. 


As  to  the  nature  of  the  tenure  by 
which  the  Levites  held  these  ap- 
propriated cities,  the  probabilit}-  is 
that  they  had  no  other  property  in 
them  than  merely  the  right  to  certain 
places  of  habitation,  which  they 
might  let  or  sell,  but  always  with 
the  right  of  perpetual  redemption  ; 
and  with  the  understanding  that  they 
were  to  return  to  them  in  the  year 
of  jubilee.  But  on  this  head  see  Notes 
on  Lev.  25.  32,  33. 

5.  Out  of  the  tribe  of  Dan^  &.C.,  ten 
cities.  A  less  number  than  was  given 
out  of  the  tribes  above-mentioned, 
because  their  inheritance  was  less. 
The  law  by  which  the  appropriation 
was  to  be  regulated  is  contained  Num. 
35.  8,  '  And  the  cities  which  ye  shall 
give  shall  be  the  posses.sion  of  Israel; 
from  them  that  have  many  (cities), 
ye  shall  give  many  ;  but  from  them 
that  have  few,  ye  .shall  give  few; 


these  cities  w  ith  their  suburbs, 
•"as  the  Lord  commanded  by  the 
hand  of  Moses. 

9  IT  And  they  gave  out  of  the 
tribe  of  the  children  of  Judah, 
and  out  of  the  tribe  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Simeon,  these  cities 
which  are  here  mentioned  by 
name, 

10  'Which  the  children  of 
Aaron,  being  of  the  families  of 
the  Kohathites,  ivho  ivere  of  the 
children  of  Levi,  had  :  for  theirs 
was  the  first  lot. 

11  "'And  they  gave  them  the 
city  of  Arba  the  lather  of  "x\nak 
(v.hich  city  is  Hebron)  "in  the 
hill-convtry  of  Judah,  with  the 
suburbs  thereof  round  about  it. 

k  Num.  35.  2.  l  ver.  4.  ml  Chron.  C. 
r;5.  Gen.  23.  2.  n  ch.  15.  13,  14.  o  ch.  20.  7. 
Luke  1.  39. 


every  one  shall  give  of  his  cities 
unto  the  Levites,  according  to  his 
inheritance  which  he  inheriteih.'  It 
may  be  remarked,  that  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  priests  were  bound 
to  live  in  these  and  in  no  other  ciiie.'^. 
When  the  tabernacle  was  at  Nob, 
both  the  priests  and  Levites  dwelt 
there,  1  Sam.  21.  1-7;  and  when  the 
worship  of  God  was  established  at 
Jerusalem,  multitudes  both  of  priests 
and  Levites  resided  there,  though  it 
was  no  Levitical  city;  as  did  the 
courses  of  the  priests  afterwards  at 
Jericho.  This  was  a  circumstance 
which  Moses  had  foreseen,  and  for 
which  he  had  provided,  Deut.  18.  G, 
&c.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  persons 
belonging  to  the  other  tribes  were  not 
precluded  from  living  in  ihe  Leviii- 
cal  cities;  as  for  instance  Gibcah  of 
Benjamin,  which  is  here  made  a 
Levitical   city,   v.   17,  was  always 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


187 


12  But  P  the  fields  of  the  city, 
and  the  villages  thereof,  gave 
they  to  Caleb,  the  son  of  Je- 
phunneh  for  his  possession. 

13  ir  Thus  '^  they  gave  to  the 
children  of  Aaron  the  priest, 
''Hebron  with  her  suburbs,  to 
be  a  city  of  refuge  for  the  slayer  ; 
^  and  Libnah  with  her  suburbs, 

14  And  'Jattir  with  her  sub- 
urbs, "  and  Eshtemoa  with  her 
suburbs, 

15  And  "^  Holon  with  her  sub- 
urbs, ^'  and  Debir  with  her  sub- 
urbs, 

16  And  'Ain  with  her  sub- 
urbs, ''and  Juttah  with  her  sub- 
urbs, and  ^  Beth-shemesh  with 
her  suburbs  ;  nine  cities  out  of 
those  two  tribes. 

17  And  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  "  Gibeon  w^ith  her 
suburbs,  '^Geba  with  her  sub- 
urbs. 

18  Anathoth  with  her  suburbs, 
and  '  Almon  with  her  suburbs  ; 
four  cities. 


p  ch.  14.  14.  1  Chron.  6.  5.  q  i  Chron. 
6.  57,  &c.  r  ch.  15.  54,  and  20,  7.  ^  ch.  15. 
42  t  c)i  15.  48  u  ch.  15.  50.  x  l  Chron. 
6.  58.  ch.  15.  51.  y  ch.  15.  49.  z  1  Chron. 
6.  59.  ch.  15.  42.  a  ch.  15.  55.  b  ch.  15.  10. 
c  ch.  IS.  25.    d  ch.  18.  24.    e  See  ch.  24.  33. 


peopled  by  the  Benjamites,  as  ap- 
pears from  Judg.  19. 

12.  The  fields  of  the  city — gave  they 
to  Caleb.  As  it  would  not  necessa- 
rily involve  the  exclusion  of  himself 
or  his  family  from  a  residence  in  the 
city,  he  probably  gave  it  to  the  priests 
in  order  to  set  an  example  to  his 
brethren  of  cheerfully  contributing 
to  tlie  maintenance  of  religion.  See 
on  ch.  14.  6-15. 

25.  Tanach  vnth  her  suburbs,  and 
Gath-rimmon     In  the  parallel  pas- 


19  All  the  cities  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Aaron,  the  priests,  were 
thirteen  cities  with  their  sub- 
urbs. 

20  IT  f  And  the  families  of  the 
children  of  Kohath,  the  Levites 
which  remained  of  the  children 
of  Kohath,  even  they  had  the 
cities  of  their  lot  out  of  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim. 

21  For  they  gave  them  ^She- 
chem  with  her  suburbs  in  mount 
Ephraim,  to  be  a  city  of  refuge 
for  the  slayer  ;  and  Gezer  w  ith 
her  suburbs, 

22  And  Kibzaim  with  her  sub- 
urbs, and  Beth-horon  with  her 
suburbs  ;  four  cities. 

23  And  out  of  the  tribe  of  Dan, 
Eltekeh  with  her  suburbs,  Gib- 
bethon  with  her  suburbs, 

24  Aijalon  with  her  suburbs, 
Gathrimmon  with  her  suburbs ; 
four  cities, 

2b  And  out  of  the  half  tribe 
of  Manasseh,  Tanach  wath  her 
suburbs,  and  Gath-rimmon  with 
her  suburbs  ;  two  cities. 

26  All  the  cities  icere  ten  with 
their  suburbs,  for  the  families  of 

f  ver.  5.     1  Chron.  6.  66.    g  ch.  20.  7. 

sage,  1  Chron.  6.  70,  Aner  and  Bi- 
leam  are  mentioned  instead  of  the 
above.  A  careful  examination  of 
the  two  catalogues  will  discover  sev- 
eral other  discrepancies  of  the  same 
kind,  which  are  probably  owing  to 
the  fact,  either  that  some  of  the  cities 
were  called  by  different  names,  or 
that  their  names  in  process  of  time 
M-ere  changed.  Others  conjecture 
that  some  of  the  cities  here  enume- 
rated being  at  this  time  in  possession 
of  the  Canaanites,  and  not  easily  to 


188 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


the  children  of  Kohath  that  re- 
maineth. 

27  IT  ''And  unto  the  children 
of  Gershon,  of  the  families  of 
the  Levites,  out  of  the  other 
half-tribe  of  Manasseh  they  gave 
*  Golan  in  Bashan  with  her  sub- 
urbs, to  be  a  city  of  refuge  for 
the  slayer,  and  Beeshterah  with 
her  suburbs ;  two  cities. 

28  And  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Issachar,  Kishon  with  her  sub- 
urbs, Dabareh  with  her  suburbs, 

29  Jarniuth  with  her  suburbs, 
Engannim  with  her  suburbs ; 
four  cities. 

30  And  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Asher,  Mishal  with  her  sub- 
urbs, Abdon  with  her  suburbs, 

31  Helkath  with  her  suburbs, 
and  Rehob  with  her  suburbs  ; 
four  cities. 

32  And  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Naphtali,  '^Kedesh  in  Galilee 
with  her  suburbs,  to  he  a  city 
of  refuge  for  the  slayer  ;  and 
Hammoth-dor  with  her  suburbs, 
and  Kartan  with  her  suburbs  ; 
three  cities. 

33  All  the  cities  of  the  Ger- 
shonites,  according  to  their  fami- 
lies, icere  thirteen  cities  with 
their  suburbs. 

34  IF  '  And   unto  the  families 

h  ver.  6.  1  Chron.  6.  71.  i  ch.  20.  8. 
k  ch.  20.  7.    1  ver.  7.     See  1  Chron.  6.  77. 


of  the  children  of  Merari,  the 
rest  of  the  Levites,  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Zebulun,  Jokneam  with 
her  suburbs,  and  Kartah  with 
her  suburbs, 

35  Dimnah  with  her  suburbs, 
Nahalal  with  her  suburbs  ;  four 
cities. 

36  And  out  of  the  tribe  of 
Reuben,  ""Bezer  with  her  sub- 
urbs, and  Jahazah  with  her  sub- 
urbs, 

37  Kedemoth  with  her  sub- 
urbs, and  Mephaath  with  her 
suburbs  ;  four  cities. 

38  And  out  of  the  tribe  of  Gad, 
"Ramoth  in  Gilead  with  her 
suburbs,  to  be  a  city  of  refuge 
for  the  slayer ;  and  Mahanaim 
with  her  suburbs, 

39  Heshbon  with  her  suburbs, 
.Tazer  with  her  suburbs  ;  four 
cities  in  all. 

40  So  all  the  cities  for  the 
children  of  Merari  by  their  fami- 
lies, which  were  remaining  of 
the  families  of  the  Levites,  were 
by  their  lot  twelve  cities. 

41  "All  the  cities  of  the  Le- 
vites within  the  possession  of 
the  children  of  Israel  were  forty 
and  eight  cities  with  their  sub- 
urbs. 

42  These  cities  were  every 
one  with    their   suburbs  round 

in  ch.  20.  8.     "  ch.  20.  8.     o  Num.  35.  7 


be  taken  out  cf  their  hands,  others 
■vvere  given  them  in  their  stead. 

41.  All  the  cities — loere  forty  and 
eight  cities,  with  their  suburbs.  This 
was  in  exact  accordance  with  the 
direction  given  by  Moses  several 
years  before,  as  we  learn  from  Num. 
35.  7.    This  order  of  Moses  is  a  di- 


rect demonstration  that  it  was  given 
under  divine  inspiration,  as  other- 
wise, how  could  he  possibly  havi 
known  that  so  many  cities  could  bt 
assigned  to  the  Levites,  without  un- 
duly encroaching  on  the  limits  oi 
the  other  tribes  1 
42.   These  cities  were  every  one  with 


13.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


189 


about  them.  Thus  were  all 
these  cities. 

43  IF  And  the  Lord  gave  unto 
Israel  ^all  the  land  which  he 
sware  to  give  unto  their  fathers  : 
and  they  possessed  it,  and  dwelt 
therein. 

44  "^  And  the  Lord  gave  them 
rest  round  about,  according  to 
all  that  he  sware  unto  their  fa- 
thers :    and  '  there  stood  not  a 

P  Gen.  13.  15,  and  15.  18,  and  26.  3,  and 
28.  4-.  13.    q  ch.  11.  2.3,  and  22.  4. 

their  suburbs  round  about  them.  Heb. 
'  these  cities  were  city,  city,  and  sub- 
urbs round  about  them.'  That  is, 
they  each  and  every  one  had  suburbs 
attached  to  them  ;  by  which  is  meant 
the  adjacent  territory  to  the  extent  of 
two  thousand  cubits  on  every  side : 
of  which  see  Num.  35.  5, 

43.  And  the  Lord  gave  unto  Is7-ael 
all  the  land,  &c.  The  foregoing  his- 
tory is  here  wound  up  by  a  suitable 
acknowledgment  of  the  faithfulness 
of  God,  in  the  performance  of  all  his 
promises.  The  Canaanites,  it  is  true, 
were  yet  in  possession  of  some  parts 
of  the  country,  but  they  were  so  far 
subdued,  that  they  gave  them  no  se- 
rious molestation,  and  they  were  ena- 
bled to  sit  down  in  their  possessions 
in  the  enjoyment  of  comparative  rest 
and  quiet.  They  had  as  much  of  the 
land  in  actual  possession  as  they 
could  occupy;  and  as  they  increased 
God  enabled  them,  according  to  his 
promise,  Ex.  23.  30,  to  carry  forward 
the  work:  of  extermination,  and  ob- 
tain further  room  for  their  settlement. 
Ail  the  assurances  given  to  Joshua, 
ch.  1.  5,  of  a  successful  tide  of  victo- 
ries during  his  life,  were  accomplish- 
ed, and  as  to  the  subsequent  annoy- 
ance and  occasional  prevalence  of 


man  of  all  their  enemies  before 
them  ;  the  Lord  delivered  all 
their  enemies  into  their  hand. 

45  '  There  failed  not  aught  of 
any  good  thing  which  the  Lord 
had  spoken  unto  the  house  of 
Israel ;  all  came  to  pass. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THEN    Joshua    called    the 
Reubenites,  and  the  Gad- 

r  DeiU.  7.  24.     s  ch.  2-3.  14. 


their  enemies,  it  was  owing  solel3''to 
the  supineness  and  infidelity  of  Isra- 
el. So  long  as  they  were  obedient, 
they  were  uniformly  triumphant  and 
prosperous.  See  notes  on  ch.  1.  5. 
'  The  inviolable  truth  of  God's  prom- 
ise, and  the  performance  of  it  to  the 
utmost,  is  what  all  the  saints  have 
been  rotdy  to  bear  their  testimony 
to  ;  and  if  in  any  thing  it  has  seemed 
to  come  short,  they  have  been  as 
ready  to  own  that  they  themselves 
must  bear  all  the  blame.'  Henry.  '  In 
due  season  all  the  promises  of  God 
will  be  accomplished  to  his  true  peo- 
ple ;  and  their  believing  hope,  and 
patient  waiting  and  self-denying  obe- 
dience, will  terminate  in  joyful  songs 
of  triumph,  and  thankful  eelebra- 
tions  of  his  faithfulness,  love,  and 
power.  Then  it  will  be  universally 
acknowledged  that  there  hath  n(it 
failed  ought  of  any  good  thing  which 
the  Lord  had  spoken :  nay,  that  he 
has  exceeded  their  largest  expecta- 
tions, and  made  them  more  than  con- 
querors, and  brought  them  to  their 
delightful  rest  and  inheritance.  May 
none  of  us  at  that  season  be  found 
among  his  enemies,  "  who  shall  be 
destroved  for  ever."  '  Scott. 


190 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


ites,  and  the  half-tribe   of  Ma- 
nasseh, 

2  And  said  unto  them,  Ye 
have  kept  "  all  that  Moses  the 
servant  of  the  Lord  commanded 
you, ''  and  have  obeyed  my  voice 
in  all  that  I  commanded  you  : 

3  Ye  have  not  left  your  breth- 
ren these  many  days  unto  this 
day,  but  hav^e  kept  the  charge 
of  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  your  God. 


a  Numb.  32.  20. 
16,  17. 


Deut.  3.  18.       b  ch.  1. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

1.  Then  Joshua  called,  &c.  The 
war  being  now,  for  the  .present  at 
least,  concluded,  and  their  services 
no  longer  required. 

3.  Ye  have  not  left  you?'  brethren 
these  many  days  unto  this  day.  Pro- 
bably for  the  space  of  seven  years ; 
for  the  people  were  occupied  for  this 
period  of  time  in  .suMuing  the  land. 
Yet  it  is  very  po.^sible  that  in  the  in- 
tervals of  action,  and  when  the^i'est 
of  the  army  had  retired  into  winter- 
quarters,  some  of  them  at  least  may 
have  visited  their  families  across  the 
Jordan,  or  been  relieved  by  other  de- 
tachments, though  we  have  no  clear 
intimation  that  this  was  the  fact. 
Certain  it  is  that  these  two  tribes  and 
a  half  had  always  their  quota  of  men, 
originally  amounting  to  40,000,  in 
readiness  at  their  respective  posts, 
for  any  service  to  which  they  might 
be  called ;  and  after  so  long  a  delay 
we  can  easily  imagine  how  ardently 
they  must  have  longed  for  the  period 
of  their  release,  when  they  could  re- 
turn to  their  peaceful  homes  to  be 
met  with  a  joyful  Avelcome  by  their 
wives  and  children.  But  like  faith- 
ful soldiers  they  await  the  full  close 


4  And  now  the  Lord  your 
God  hath  given  rest  unto  your 
brethren,  as  he  promised  them : 
therefore  now  return  ye,  and  get 
you  unto  your  tents,  and  unto 
the  land  of  your  possession, 
°  which  Moses  the  servant  of 
the  Lord  gave  you  on  the  other 
side  Jordan. 

5  But ''  take  diligent  heed  to  do 
the  commandment  and  the  law, 
which  Moses  the  servant  of  the 

c  Num.  32.  33.  Deut.  29.  8.  cli.  13.  8. 
d  Deut.  6.6,  17,  and  11.22. 

of  the  war  and  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. Had  they  departed  sooner 
they  would  have  been  recalled  as  fu- 
gitives or  branded  as  cowards ;  now 
they  retire  with  blessings  and  ap- 
plause. So  though  our  home  in  hea- 
ven be  ever  so  attractive,  we  are  re- 
quired to  remain  contentedly  on  earth 
till  our  warfare  be  accomplished,  and 
instead  of  anticipating  our  removal, 
to  wait  for  a  due  discharge  at  the 
hands  of  our  divine  Leader. 

4.  Get  you  unto  your  tents.  To 
your  settled  habitations,  frequently 
called  tents  in  the  scriptures.  2  Sam. 
18.  17;  Hos.  9.  6;  Mai.  2.  12.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  they  still  re- 
tained somewhat  of  the  nomade  hab- 
its of  their  ancestors,  and  that  tents 
were  by  no  means  imcommon  among 
them. 

5.  Take  diligent  heed,  &,c.  Joshua 
thinks  it  not  enough  merely  to  dis- 
miss them  with  the  commendations 
which  their  zeal  and  fid^ity  had"  so 
richly  merited,  but  in  the  spirit  of  a 
true  servant  of  God,  adds  to  his  en- 
comiums the  most  pious  counsels 
and  exhortations.  It  is  not  simply  a 
general  admonition  relative  to  their 
religious  duties,  in  which  case  one 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


19i 


Lord  charged  you,  ^  to  love  the 
Lord  your  God,  and  to  walk  in 
all  his  ways,  and  to  keep  his 
commandments,  and  to  cleave 
unto  him,  and  to  serve  him  with 
all  your  heart,  and  with  all  your 
soul. 
6  So    Joshua   '^blessed   them, 

e  Deut.  10.  12. 


or  two  brief  intimations  would  have 
sufficed,  but  the  expressions  are  re- 
markably varied  and  accumulated, 
to  show  in  the  most  forcible  manner 
the  unspeakable  importance  to  every 
child  of  man  of  a  life  of  devoted 
obedience.  They  were  to  give  the 
most  diligent  heed  to  themselves  to 
see  that  the  love  of  God,  as  the  great 
ruling  principle  of  action,  was  deep- 
ly seated  in  their  hearts ;  this  must 
be  evinced  by  the  universality  of 
their  obedience,  extending  to  every 
divine  precept,  and  still  further  illus- 
trated by  the  constancy,  humility,  res- 
olution, and  affection  which  were  to 
characterize  their  walk.  Counsel 
like  this  can  never  be  unseasonable 
or  superfluous.  Even  the  most  estab- 
lished Christian,  whose  progress  in 
holiness  has  hitherto  been  most  ex- 
emplary, cannot  deem  himself  be- 
yond the  need  of  similar  exhorta- 
tions. As  long  as  he  abides  in  the 
flesh  he  needs  to  be  '  put  in  remem- 
brance of  these  things,  though  he 
knows  them,  and  be  established  in 
the  present  truth.'  Especially  does 
he  need  these  kindly  monitions  when 
settled  down,  or  about  to  be  settled 
down,  in  a  state  of  peace  and  pros- 
perity ;  for  such  a  state  is  one  of  pe- 
culiar danger  to  his  spiritual  inter- 
ests. These  disbanded  soldiers  of 
Israel  w^ere  now  returning  to  the  bo- 
som of  their  families,  and  the  peace- 


and  sent  them  away  ;  and  im  y 
went  unto  their  tents. 

7  T  Now  to  the  one  half  of 
the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  Moses 
had  given  possession  in  Bashan  : 
-but  unto  the  other  half  thereof 
gave  Joshua  among  their  bretli- 

f  Gen.  47.  7.  Exod.  39.  43.  ch.  14.  13.  2 
Sam.  6.  18.  Luke  24.  50.    g  ch.  17.  5. 


ful  prosecution  of  their  worldly  busi- 
ness. They  needed,  therefore,  to  be 
reminded  of  the  danger,  of  which 
Moses  had  long  before  warned  them, 
of  forgetting  the  Lord  their  God  while 
enjoying  '  houses  which  they  built 
not,  wells  which  they  digged  not, 
and  vineyards  which  they  planted 
not.'  A  constant  mindfulness  of  God 
accordingly  was  the  great  object  of 
Joshua's  solicitude  for  his  departing 
brethren,  and  in  his  example  we  see 
the  spirit  of  a  Christian  parent  or 
guardian,  and  what  kind  of  counsel 
he  will  be  most  anxious  to  impart  to 
the  children  of  his  charge  when 
about  to  retire  from  his  immediate 
control  and  enter  upon  the  wide  stage 
of  action  in  the  world. 

6.  So  Joshua  blessed  them.  Spake 
respectfully  of  their  faithful  services, 
wished  them  every  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral good,  and  prayed  earnestly  to 
God  to  protect  and  prosper  them. 
They  undoubtedly  returned  with  all 
convenient  expedition.  It  had  been 
a  long  absence,  and  the  meeting  was 
no  doubt  proportionably  happy. 
Here  below,  business,  journeys,  voy- 
ages, and  other  casualties  are  con- 
tinually separating  the  dearest  rela- 
tives ;  but  they  are  glad  to  get  home 
in  peace.  How  much  happier  for 
the  Christian  pilgrim,  when  his  war- 
fare of  life  is  accomplished,  and  re- 
ceiving the  divine  blessing,  to  cross 


192 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C    1444. 


ren  on  ibis  side  Jordan  west- 
ward. And  when  Joshua  sent 
them  away  also  unto  their  tents, 
then  he  blessed  them, 

8  And  he  spake  unto  them, 
saying,  Return  with  much  rich- 
es unto  your  tents,  and  with  ve- 
ry much  cattle,  with  silver,  and 
with  gold,  and  with  brass,  and 
with  iron,  and  with  very  much 
raiment :  ^  divide  the  spoil  of 
your  enemies  with  your  breth- 
ren. 

9  IT  And  the  children  of  Reu- 
ben, and  the  children  of  Gad, 
and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh 
returned,  and  departed  from  the 

h  Num.  31.  27.     1  Sam.  30.  14. 

Jordan,  and  meet  his  brethren  in 
glory,  the  famil}^  of  God  ! 

7.  To  the  one  half  of  tfie  tribe  of 
Manasseh^  «S:c.  This  appears  to 
come  in  here  as  a  parenthesis,  inti- 
mating the  reason  why  the  tribe  was 
divided  into  two  parts.  Moses  had 
before  assigned  one  half  of  them 
their  lot  on  the  other  side  Jordan. 

8.  Divide  the  spoil  of  your  enemies 
with  you)-  brethren.  Your  brethren 
that  have  remained  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Jordan,  protecting  your  fami- 
lies, flocks,  and  goods.  It  is  not  im- 
plied, however,  that  those  who  re- 
mained at  home  were  to  have  an 
equal  share  of  the  spoil,  as  this  would 
have  been  manifestly  unjust  from 
their  superior  numbers  and  inferior 
claims.     See  on  INum.  31.  27. 

10.  The  borders  of  Jordan.  Heb. 
rn^"'^3  gcliloth,  properly  the  icind- 
ings,  mcanderings  made  by  the  Jor- 
dan in  its  course,  sometimes  assum- 
ing almost  a  circular  form,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  sense  of  the  origi- 
nal term,  which  is  used  in  some  ca- 


children  of  Israel  out  of  Shiloh, 
which  is  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
to  go  unto  'the  country  of  Gile- 
ad,  to  the  land  of  their  posses- 
sion, whereof  they  were  pos- 
sessed, according  to  the  word 
of  the  Lord  by  the  hand  of 
Moses. 

10  IT  And  when  they  came 
unto  the  borders  of  Jordan,  that 
are  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  the 
children  of  Reuben,  and  the 
children  of  Gad,  and  the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh  built  there  an 
altar  by  Jordan,  a  great  altar  to 
see  to. 

11  ^  And  the  children  of  Is- 

1  Num.  32.  1,  2G,  29. 


ses  to  signify  a  ring.  The  altar  was 
doubtless  erected  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Jordan,  but  it  might  have  been 
situated  upon  a  projecting  tongue  or 
promontory  of  land,  that  extended 
into  the  borders  of  Canaan  proper. 
The  reader  will  observe,  moreover, 
that  the  word  '  are,'  being  printed  in 
Italics,  does  not  occur  in  the  origi- 
nal, so  that  we  may  as  properly  ren- 
der it  '  is,'  and  understand  the  re- 
lative '  that'  of  the  river  Jordan. 

IT  A  great  altar  to  see  to.  Very  con- 
spicuous. Heb.  *  an  altar  great  to 
the  sight.'  A  vast  mass  of  earth, 
stones,  &c.,  elevated  to  a  command- 
ing height  and  visible  at  a  great  dis- 
tance ;  intended  merely  as  a  memo- 
rial to  all  future  ages  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and 
that  they  were  worshippers  of  Israel's 
God,  but  made  in  imitation  of  the 
altar  of  burnt- offering  at  the  taber- 
nacle. Their  motive  in  this  was  an 
apprehension  that  at  some  future  pe- 
riod they  might  be  disowned  by  their 
brethren  on  account  of  their  not  hav- 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


193 


rael  "heard  say,  Behold,  the 
children  of  Reuben,  and  the 
children  of  Gad,  and  the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  have  built 
an  altar  over  against  the  land  of 
Canaan,  in  the  borders  of  Jor- 

k  Deut.  13.  12,  &c.    Judg.  20. 12. 


ing  their  inheritance  in  the  land  of 
Canaan  proper. 

11.  Have  built  a7i  altar  over  against 
the  land  of  Canaan.  This  rxiay  be 
deemed  conclusive  proof  that  the  site 
of  the  altar  was  on  the  easl  of  the 
Jordan,  in  the  inheritance  of  the  tvvo 
tribes  and  a  half,  and  not  onthewes^. 
There  would  have  been  no  cause  of 
suspecting  it  designed  for  sacrifice, 
had  it  been  built  on  the  Canaan  side 
of  Jordan. 

12.  The  whole  congregation — gath- 
ered themselves  together.  Not  per- 
haps in  their  own  persons,  but  b}^ 
their  representatives  the  elders,  who 
transacted  all  aifairs  of  ihis  nature 
in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the  peo- 
ple.  ^    To  go  up  to  v:ar  against 

them.  The  case  was  one  that  laid  a 
iust  ground  for  suspicion.  Having 
no  conception  of  an  altar  being  erect- 
ed for  any  purpose  but  that  of  sacri- 
fice, the  other  tribes  naturally  re- 
garded it  as  an  act  of  rebellion 
against  God,  and  determined  in- 
stantly to  go  and  punish  the  suppos- 
ed apostates.  By  an  express  com- 
mand, Ex.  20.  24  :  Lev.  17.  8,  9 :  Deut. 

12.  5-13,  the  nation  had  been  pro- 
hibited from  worshipping  God  except 
at  one  altar,  and  for  what  other  than 
a  religious  purpose  could  this  struc- 
ture have  been  reared  %  They  more- 
over felt  themselves  impelled  to  this 
course  by  the  tenor  of  the  law,  Deut. 

13.  7-13,  requiring  the  most  sum- 
mary judgment  to  be  executed  upon 

17 


dan,  at  the  passage  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel. 

12  And  when  the  children  of 
Israel  heard  of  it.,  'the  whole 
congregation  of  the  children  of 
Israel  gathered  themselves  to- 

1  Judg.  20.  1. 


the  individuals  or  cities  that  should 
be  found  setting  up  an  idolatrous  wor- 
.ship.  Their  zeal  for  the  Lord  of 
hosts  under  this  impression  was  very 
commendable.  Though  these  trans- 
Jordanic  tribes  are  their  own  breth- 
ren, bone  of  their  bone,  companions 
with  them  in  tribulation  in  the  wil- 
derness, and  their  generous  allies  in 
the  wars  of  Canaan,  yet  if  they  re- 
volt from  the  true  God  and  turn  to 
the  service  of  idols,  or  openly  make 
a  breach  in  the  unity  of  his  worship 
they  are  determined  to  treat  them  no 
longer  as  brethren,  but  as  enemies 
who  were  to  be  cut  off  as  unsparingly 
as  the  Canaanites  themselves.  Their 
holy  jealousy,  therefore,  in  these  cir- 
cumstances was  no  more  than  a  pro- 
per expression  of  their  intense  con- 
cern for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
honor  of  his  institutions.  But  their 
zeal  was  tempered  with  the  meek- 
ness of  wisdom,  and  before  proceed- 
ing to  extremities  they  determined  to 
send  an  embassy  to  inquire  into  the 
facts,  and  if  their  suspicions  were 
confirmed,  to  see  whether  they  could 
not  be  prevailed  upon  by  milder 
methods  to  abandon  their  wicked  en- 
terprise and  return  to  their  allegi- 
ance to  the  God  of  Israel.  Instead 
of  saying  that  the  c&se  was  too  clear 
to  admit  of  doubt,  or  too  gross  to  al- 
low of  apology,  they  evidently  go  on 
the  presumption  that  they  may  have 
been  mistaken  in  their  construction 
of  the  affair,  and  that  at  any  rate  it 


194 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


gether  at  Shiloh,  to  go  up  to 
war  against  them. 

13  And  the  children  of  Israel 
"  sent  unto  the  children  of  Reu- 
ben, and  to  the  children  of  Gad, 
and  to  the  half-tribe  of  Manas- 
seh  into  the  land  of  Gilead, 
"Phinehas  the  son  of  Eleazar 
the  priest, 

14  And  with  him  ten  princes, 
of  each  chief  house  a  prince 
throughout  all  the  tribes  of  Is- 
rael ;  and  °  each  one  was  a 
head  of  the  house  of  their  fa- 


in Deut.  13.  14.     Juds.  20.  12. 
6.  25.    Num.  25.  7. 


II  Esocl. 


was  proper  that  they  should  not  con- 
deam  their  brethren  unheard,  but 
should  give  them  the  opportunity  of 
justifying  themselves  in  the  measure 
if  it  were  possible.  According  to 
the  wise  man's  direction  they  will 
'upon  good  advice  make  war.'  A 
noble  example  of  moderation,  for- 
bearance, and  charity,  shines  forth  in 
this  conduct.  How  many  an  un- 
happy strife  might  be  prevented  by 
similar  precaution,  by  simply  staying 
to  inquire  calmly  into  that  which 
constitutes  the  avowed  matter  of 
offence !  How  often  would  a  few 
words  of  candid  explanation  smother 
in  embryo  the  most  angry  controver- 
sies, violent  quarrels,  and  embittered 
persecutions!  By  barely  adopting 
the  prudent  conduct  of  Israel  on 
this  occasion,  individuals,  families, 
churches,  and  communities,  might, 
in  a  thousand  instances,  be  saved  a 
world  of  jealousy,  enmity,  discord, 
war  and  bloodshed. 

13,  14.  PJiineas — and  v'ith  him  ten 
princes.  Persons  of  age,  experience, 
and  approved  discretion,  possessing 
weight  of  character  in  the  congrega- 


thers  among  the  thousands  of 
Israel. 

15  IT  And  they  came  unto  the 
children  of  Reuben,  and  to  the 
children  of  Gad,  and  to  the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  unto  the  land 
of  Gilead,  and  they  spake  with 
them,  saying, 

16  Thus  saith  the  whole  con- 
gregation of  the  Lord,  What 
trespass  is  this  that  ye  have  com- 
mitted against  the  God  of  Israel, 
to  turn  away  this  day  from  fol- 
lowing   the    Lord,   in    that   ye 

o  Num.  1.  4. 


tion,  and  likely  to  be  influenced  more 
by  the  dictates  of  cool  judgment  than 
of  hasty  passion,  were  very  properly 
selected  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  people 
on  this  occasion.  The  ardent  tem- 
perament of  younger  men  could  not 
so  safely  be  trusted  on  such  a  trying 
emergency. 

16.  What  trespass  is  this,  &c. 
Without  acquitting  the  ten  tribes  of 
the  charge  of  somewhat  of  an  undue 
precipitancy  in  taking  up  their  im- 
favorable  impressions,  the  matter  in 
question  was  one  on  which  they  were 
justified  in  feeling  strongly  and  act- 
ing pr(^nptly.  As  it  now  appeared, 
it  was  a  step  fraught  with  the  most 
momentous  consequences  to  the 
whole  body  of  Israel.  Repeated  oc- 
casions had  arisen  wherein  the  sin 
of  individuals  had  been  visited  upon 
the  entire  nation.  The  iniquity  of 
Achan  had  not  long  since  caused  the 
defeat  of  Israel's  hosts,  together  with 
the  loss  of  six  and  thirty  men;  and 
not  very  long  before  the  connexion 
of  many  wita  the  Midianitish  women 
had  brought  destruction  on  twenty- 
four  thousand  Israelites  in  one  day. 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


195 


have  builded  you  an  altar,  p  that 
ye  might  rebel  this  day  against 
the  Lord  ? 

17  Is  the  iniquity  "^  of  Peor  too 
little  for  us,  from  which  we  are 
not  cleansed  until  this  day,  al- 
though there  was  a  plague  in 
the  congregation  of  the  Lord, 

18  But  that  ye  must  turn  away 
this    day    from    following    the 

P  Lev.  17.  8,  9.  Deut.  12. 1-3, 14.  q  Num. 
25.  3,  4.     Deut.  4.  3. 


What  then  could  be  expected,  but 
that,  if  those  who  had  erected  the 
altar  should  go  unpunished^  God 
would  punish  all  the  other  tribes  as 
partners  in  their  guilt '?  Anti  if  for- 
merl}''  one  man's  sin  wrought  so 
much  indignation,  what  would  be 
the  consequences  of  the  apostasy  of 
two  tribes  and  a  half  7  To  avert  so 
terrible  an  evi\,  therefore,  they  felt 
to  be  their  bounden  duty  at  all  events, 
and  in  order  to  this  no:hing  could  be 
more  effectual  than  plainly  remind- 
ing them  of  the  sad  effects  of  past 
transgression.  '  It  is  good  to  recol- 
lect and  improve  those  instances  of 
the  wrath  of  God  which  have  fallen 
out  in  our  own  time,  and  of  which 
we  ourselves  have  been  eye-witness- 
es. The  remembrance  of  great  sins 
committed  formerly,  should  engage 
us  to  stand  upon  our  guard  against 
the  least  occasions  and  beginnings  of 
sin  ;  for  the  way  of  sin  is  down-hill  ' 
Henry. 

17.  Is  the  iniquity  of  Peor  too  little 
for  us?  The  iniquity  of  our  wor- 
shipping Peor.  Num  25.  3 ;  Deut.  4. 
3.  Does  this  sin  seem  so  small  to  us 
that  we  cannoi;  be  content  with  that, 
but  must  go  on  adding  iniquity  to  in- 
iquity % IT  From  which  ''oe  are  not 

cleansed  until  this  day.     That  is,  of 


Lord  ?  and  it  will  be,  seeing  ye 
rebel  to-day  against  the  Lord, 
that  to-morrow  '"he  will  be  wroth 
with  the  whole  congregation  of 
Israel 

19  Notwithstanding,  if  the  land 
of  your  possession  be  unclean, 
then  pass  ye  over  unto  the  land 
of  the  possession  of  the  Lord, 
'wherein  the  Lord's  tabernacle 

r  Num.  16.  22.    s  ch.  18.  1. 


which  we  have  not  ceased  to  suffer 
the  consequences  to  this  day.  The 
wrath  of  God  was  indeed  so  far  ap- 
peased on  that  occasion  by  the  zeal 
of  Phineas,  that  he  stayed  the  farther 
ravages  of  the  plague,  yet  the  .shame, 
the  disgrace,  the  infamy  of  that  trans- 
action siill  remained,  and  more  than 
this,  some  tokens  of  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure still  continued  to  linger 
among  the  congregation.  As  we 
see  from  the  case  of  David,  men  may 
repent  of  a  heinous  transgression 
and  be  graciously  freed  from  the 
guilt  of  it,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  may  continue  to  suffer  from  its 
evil  consequences  even  to  the  close 
of  life.  In  the  present  instance,  how- 
ever, the  words  may  perhaps  imply 
that  some  measure  of  that  corrupt 
leaven  still  remained  among  them, 
that  the  in  feci  ion  was  not  wholly 
cured,  and  that  though  suppressed 
for  the  present,  it  was  still  secretly 
working,  and  was  liable  to  break  out 
again  with  fresh  violence,  as  is  also 
intimated  in  the  words  of  Joshua, 
ch.  24.  23. 

19.  If  the  land  of  your  possession 
be  unclean.  If  you  have  any  preju- 
dice against  the  land  of  your  inher- 
itance ;  if  you  think  it  not  equally 
with  ours  under  the   divine  favor 


196 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


dwellethj  and  take  possession  '  on  all  the  congregation  of  Isra- 
among  us  :  but  rebel  not  against ,  el  ?  and  that  man  perished  not 
the  Lord,  nor  rebel  against  us,     " 


in  building  you  an  altar  besides 
the  altar  of  the  Lord  our  God. 
20  '  Did  not  Achan  the  son  of 
Zerah  commit  a  trespass  in  the 
accursed  thing,  and  wrath  fell 

t  ch.  7, 1,  5. 

and  protection.  They  imagined  that 
the  two  tribes  and  a  half  might  think 
their  land  less  holy  for  the  want  of 
an  altar  and  such  tokens  of  the  di- 
vine presence  as  pertained  to  the 
tabernacle.  An  opinion  -was  gene- 
rally prevalent  among  the  ancients, 
that  those  countries,  in  which  there 
was  no  place  set  apart  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  were  unhallowed  and 
unclean.  The  proposal  displayed  a 
very  generous  and  disinterested  spi- 
rit, a  willingness  to  make  sacrifices 
in  order  to  preserve  purity,  and  con- 
sequently peace.  Rather  than  they 
should  set  up  a  separate  altar  from 
a  groundless  dissatisfaction  with  their 
inheritance,  they  would  cheerfully 
welcome  them  back  to  the  other  side 
of  the  Jordan,  'where  the  Lord's  ta- 
bernacle dwelt,'  though  they  should 
straiten  themselves  by  so  doing.  But 
what  was  a  little  inconvenience  to 
themselves  when  such  an  evil  was 
to  be  averted,  and  such  a  good  se- 
cured 7  How  kind,  how  conciliating, 
how  self-denying,  how  eager  for  ac- 
commodation,  is  the  spirit  of  true 

piety ! U  But  rebel  not  against  the 

Lord.  Implying  that  a  deliberate 
departure  from  the  instituted  mode 
of  worship  is  nothing  short  of  down- 
right rebellion  against  the  God  of 
heaven.  Compare  with  this  the 
parallel  expression  of  Samuel  rela- 
tive to  the  conduct  of  Saul,  1  Sam. 


alone  in  his  iniquity. 

2 1  IT  Then  the  children  of  Reu- 
ben, and  the  children  of  Gad, 
and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh 
answered,  and  said  unto  the 
heads  of  the  thousands  of  Is- 
rael, 


15.  13. IT  Besides  the  altar  of  the 

Lord  our  God.     In  addition  to  it. 

20.  And  that  man  perisheth  not  alone 
in  his  iniquity.  The  idea  expressed 
in  these  words  of  our  common  trans- 
lation is  unquestionably  conveyed  by 
the  original;  still  it  is  not  an  exact 
version.  The  literal  rendering  of 
the  Heb.  is,  '  and  he,  one  man,  did 
not  perish  in  his  iniquity.'  That  is, 
though  he  were  but  a  single  individ- 
ual, and  it  might  have  been  supposed 
that  his  death  would  have  been  the 
winding  up  of  his  existence  in  every 
respect,  yet  in  reality  such  was  his 
relation  to  the  whole  people  as  a  sin- 
ner, such  the  connexion  between  his 
offence  and  the  punishment  of  the 
whole  nation,  that  in  one  sense  he 
may  be  said  to  have  survived  his 
own  death.  He  still  lived  in  the 
fearful  effects  of  his  transgression, 
as  visited  upon  the  entire  congrega- 
tion. His  life  and  his  crime  did  not 
terminate  together.  A  strikingly  ana- 
logous passage  occurs  Num.  27.  3. 

21.  Then  the  children  of  Reicben — 
ansvsered.  If  we  find  somewhat  to 
blame  in  each  of  the  opposite  parties ; 
in  the  one,  an  undue  precipitation  in 
building  the  altar,  and  in  the  other, 
an  undue  hastiness  in  ascribing  it  to 
wrong  intentions,  we  yet  behold  very 
much  to  admire  in  both.  When  the 
accusers  found  themselves  mistaken, 
they  did  not  shift  their  ground,  and 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


197 


22  The  Lord  "  God  of  gods, 
the  Lord  God  of  gods,  he 
''knoweth,  and  Israel  he  shall 
know ;  if  it  be  in  rebellion,  or 
ii  in  transgression  against  the 
Lord,  (save  us  not  this  day,) 


u  Deut.  10.  17.  X  1  Kings  8.  39.  Job  10.  7, 
and  23.  10.  Ps.  44.  21,  and  139.  1,  2.  Jer. 
12.  3.     2  Cor.  11.  11,  31. 


condemn  their  brethren  for*  impru- 
dence ;  nor  when  the  accused  had 
"evinced  their  innocence,  did  they  up- 
braid their  accusers  with  hastj^,  rash, 
or  unjust  surmises.  Aware  that  the 
measure  was  easily  susceptible  of  the 
interpretation  their  brethren  had  put 
upon  it,  they  took  their  reproofs,  se- 
vere as  they  were,  in  good  part,  and 
instead  of  angry  retorts  or  recrimi- 
nations, gave  them  the  soft  answer 
which  turneth  away  wrath,  and  by  a 
candid  and  honest  declaration  of  their 
real  intentions,  at  once  set  themselves 
right  in  the  opinion  of  their  brethren. 
22.  The  Lord  God  of  gods.  The 
original  words  mrTi  Q^n^ii  ^5i  El 
Elokim  Yehovah,  are  exceedingly 
emphatic,  and  cannot  be  easily  trans- 
lated. They  are  the  three  principal 
names  by  which  the  supreme  God 
was  known  among  the  Hebrews,  and 
may  be  rendered  '  The  strong  God, 
Elohim  Jehovah,'  which  is  nearly 
the  version  of  Luther,  '  Der  starke 
Gott,  der  Herr,'  the  strong  God,  the 
Lord.  q.  d,  '  that  almighty  and  om- 
niscient Jehovah,  whom  we  as  well 
as  you  acknowledge  and  adore  as 
the  God  of  gods,  infinitely  superior 
to  all  that  are  called  gods— to  him 
we  appeal  as  knowing  our  inno- 
cency,  and  that  we  would  shudder  at 
the  thought  of  forsaking  or  dividing 
his  worship.'  By  this  solemn  ap- 
peal they  would  convince  their  breth- 
17* 


23  That  we  have  built  us  an 
altar  to  turn  from  following  the 
Lord,  or  if  to  offer  thereon 
burnt-offering,  or  meat-offering, 
or  if  to  offer  peace-offerings 
thereon,  let  the  Lord  himself 
^  require  it ; 

7  Deut.  18.  19.    1  Sam.  W.  16. 


ren  that  their  religious  faith  was 
unchanged,  and  their  future  conduct, 
they  also  intimate,  should  satisfy  all 
Israel  that  with  clean  hands  and  an 
upright  heart  they  had  engaged  in 
this  undertaking.  Where  there  is 
evidence  of  a  deep  and  heart-felt  rev- 
erence for  God,  there  is  the  best  se- 
curity  for   pure    intentions    and    a 

blameless    course    of    conduct. 

IT  Save  us  not  this  day.  Let  God  the 
Judge  cause  us  to  perish  by  the  sword 
of  our  enemies  or  of  our  brethren,  if 
either  in  principle  or  practice  we 
have  knowingly  departed  from  him. 
It  is  a  sudden  apostrophe  to  God, 
prompted  by  strong  emotion  and  fre- 
quently occurring  in  speeches  of  a 
very  earnest  and  vehement  charac- 
ter, and  highly  expressive  of  con- 
scious integrity. 

23.  Let  the  Lord  himself  require  it. 
Requite  it.  Let  him  call  us  to  ac- 
count for  it  and  punish  us  as  the  of- 
fence may  deserve,  as  the  word  '  re- 
quite,' often  signifies.  See  on  Gen. 
9.  5 ;  Deut.  18.  19  ;  1  Sam.  20.  16. 
The  trans- Jordanic  tribes  were  ac- 
cused of  erecting  an  altar  prohibited 
by  the  law,  and  that  with  the  design 
of  apostatizing  from  the  true  religion. 
They  in  their  answer  imply  that  the 
law  is  not  violated  except  by  altars 
intended  for  sacrifice  ;  but  such  was 
not  theirs,  as  they  show  by  specify- 
ing the  three  principal  uses  of  the 


198 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


24  And  if  we  have  not  rather 
done  it  for  fear  of  this  thing, 
saying,  In  time  to  come  your 
children  might  speak  unto  our 
children,  saying.  What  have  ye 
to  do  with  the  Lord  God  of  Is- 
rael ? 

25  For  the   Lord  hath  made 

divinely  appointed  altar,  and  deny- 
ing that  they  contemplated  either  of 
these  uses  in  erecting  theirs. 

'2A.  For  fear  of  tkis  thing.  What 
this  thing  was  they  immediately  go 
on  to  state.  They  were  apprehen- 
sive of  certain  consequences  result- 
ing from  their  local  separation  from 
their  brethren,  which  are  fully  de- 
tailed in  the  ensuing  verses.  The 
original  word  for  '  fear'  denotes  a 
great  perplexity  and  solicitude  of 
mind  bordering  upon  actual  distress. 
It  occurs  Prov.  12.  25,  where  it  sig- 
nifies affiiction.  The  amount  of 
their  answer  is,  that  they  were  actu- 
ated by  motives  directly  the  reverse 

of  those  attributed  to  them. IT  In 

time  to  come.  Heb.  '  to-morrow.' 
See  note  on  ch.  4.  6. 

25.  So  shall  your  children  make 
our  children  cease  from  fearing  the 
Lord.  The  danger  to  which  they 
allude  was  not  immediate,  but  pros- 
pective. There  was  little  probabil- 
ity of  their  being  disowned  by  their 
brethren  of  the  present  generation, 
but  their  children  might  be  looked 
upon  in  after  ages  as  having  no  in- 
terest in  the  God  of  Israel,  or  his  in- 
stituted worship.  The  consequence 
would  be,  that,  being  cut  off  from 
public  ordinances,  the  life  and  pow- 
er of  religion  would  die  out  from 
among  them,  they  would  become 
reckless  of  their  duty  and  allegiance 
to  Grod,  wickedness  would  abound, 


Jordan  a  border  between  us  and 
you,  ye  children  of  Reuben  and 
children  of  Gad  ;  ye  have  no 
part  in  the  Lord.  So  shall 
your  children  make  our  children 
cease  from  fearing  the  Lord. 

26  Therefore  we  said,  Let  us 
now  prepare  to  build  us  an  al- 


and they  would  sink  to  a  state  cf 
comparative  heathenism.  This  was 
a  prospect  of  which  they  could  not 
endure  to  think.  It  was  a  state  of 
things  to  be  by  all  means  averted ; 
and  though  it  would  perhaps  have 
been  better  to  have  consulted  Joshua, 
or  rather  to  have  taken  counsel  of  the 
Lord,  respecting  this  measure  before 
they  carried  it  into  executi  n,  yet 
this  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  their  posterity  cannot  be  too 
highly  praised.  Nothing  weighs 
more  deeply  on  the  truly  pious  heart, 
than  the  transmission  to  the  latest 
generations  of  those  inestimable  re- 
ligious privileges,  which  have  been 
the  comfort  and  blessing  of  their  fa- 
thers. If  the  outward  institutions  of 
piety  are  wanting  in  any  commu- 
nity, the  very  existence  of  piety  itself 
is  endangered,  and  where  that  is 
the  case,  the  judgments  instead  of 
the  mercies  of  heaven  will  descend, 
as  the  inheritance  of  posterity.  Yet, 
alas  !  how  much  more  anxious  are 
thousands  to  entail  upon  their  de- 
scendants ample  worldly  possessions, 
even  at  the  hazard  of  all  their  better 
interests,  than  to  perpetuate  among 
them  those  invaluable  means  of 
grace  which  take  hold  on  eternal 
life!  God  forbid  that  we  should 
ever  be  willing  that  our  children 
should  dwell  in  splendid  mansions, 
or  revel  in  accumulated  riches,  on 
which  '  Ichabod'  is  written  '. 


B.  C.  1444.] 


CHAPTER  XXIl. 


199 


tar,  not  for  burnt-offering,  nor 
tw  sacrifice : 

27  But  that  it  may  be  ^  a  wit- 
ness between  us,  and  you,  and 
our  generations  after  us,  that  we 
might  •''do  the  service  of  the 
Lord  before  him  with  our  burnt- 
offerings,  and  with  our  sacrifices, 
and  with  our  peace-offerings  ; 
that  your  children  may  not  say 
to  our  children  in  time  to  come, 
Ye  have  no  part  in  the  Lord. 

28  Therefore  said  we,  that  it 
shall  be,  when  they  should  so 
say  to  us  or  to  our  generations 
in  time  to  come,  that  we  may 
say  a  gain  J  Behold  the  pattern 
of  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  which 
our  fathers  made,  not  for  burnt- 
otFerings,  nor  for  sacrifices  ;  but 
it  is  a  witness  between  us  and 
you. 

29  God  forbid  that  we  should 

z  Gen.  31.  48.  ch.24.  27.  ver.  34.  a  Deut. 
12.  5,  6,  11, 12.  17,  18,  26,  27. 


27.  That  it  may  be  a  witness.  An 
indelible  monument  and  assurance 
that  we  are  as  truly  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple as  yourselves,  and  entitled  to 
share  unto  perpetuity  in  the  same 
distinguishing  services  and  privi- 
leges. 

28.  Say  to  us,  or  to  our  generations 
in  time  to  come.  Rather  according 
to  the  well-known  Heb.  idiom,  'say 
to  us.  evento  our  generations.'  It  is 
evident  that  their  fears  concerned 
their  offspring,  and  not  themselves. 

IT  That  loe  may  say  again.  That 

is,  that  our  posterity,  who  shall  be 
then  living  may  say.     See  on  ch.  4 

23 '^  Behold  the  paitern.     Rather 

the  copy;  the  exact  representation 
and  resemblance.  This  they  would 
have  regarded  as  a  sign,  a  memorial. 


rebel  against  the  Lord,  and  turn 
this  day  from  following  the 
Lord,  ''to  build  an  altar  for 
burnt-offerings,  for  meat-offer- 
ings, or  for  sacrifices,  besides 
the  altar  of  the  Lord  our  God 
that  is  before  his  tabernacle. 

30  IT  And  when  Phinehas  the 
priest,  and  the  princes  of  the 
congregation,  and  heads  of  the 
thousands  of  Israel  which  were 
v/ith  him,  heard  the  words  that 
the  children  of  Reuben,  and  the 
children  of  Gad,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Manasseh  spake,  it 
pleased  them. 

31  And  Phinehas  the  son  of 
Eleazar  the  priest  said  unto  the 
children  of  Reuben,  and  to  the 
children  of  Gad,  and  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Manasseh,  This  day 
we  perceive  that  the  Lord  is 
■^  among  us,  because  ye  have  not 

b  Dent.  12.  13,  14.  c  Lev.  26.  11,  12.  2 
Chron.  15.  2. 


that  they  both  acknowledged  and 
served  the  same  God,  and  both  made 
use  of  one  and  the  same  altar. 

31.  This  day  ice  perceive  that  the 
Lord  is  among  us.  Rendered  in  the 
Targum  of  Jonathan,  '  This  day 
we  know  that  the  majesty  of  the 
Lord  dwelleth  among  us,  because  ye 
have  not  committed  this  prevarica- 
tion against  the  Word  of  the  Lord, 
and  thus  ye  have  delivered  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  from  the  hand  of  the 
Word  of  the  Lord.'  The  sense  un- 
doubtedly is,  that  ihe  happy  i.ssue  of 
the  affair  proved  conclusively  that 
God  was  among  them  by  his  prevent- 
ing goodness.  Had  their  motives 
been  less  pure  and  conscientious 
than  they  were,  the  result  would 
have  been  unquestionably  far  more 


200 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1444. 


committed  this  trespass  against 
the  Lord  :  now  ye  have  cleKv- 
ered  the  children  of  Israel  out 
of  the  hand  of  the  Lord. 

32  IT  And  Phinehas  the  son  of 
Eleazar  the  priest,  and  the  prin- 
ces, returned  from  the  children 
of  Reuben,  and  from  the  chil- 
dren of  Gad,  out  of  the  land  of 
Gilead,  unto  the  land  of  Canaan, 
to  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
brought  them  word  again. 

33  And  the  thing  pleased  the 


disastrous.  But  as  all  unhappy  con- 
sequences had  been  avoided,  the  in- 
ference was  inevitable  that  God  was 
that  day  in  the  midst  of  them,  that 
he  had  approved  the  spirit  and  mo- 
tives in  which  the  step  originated, 
and,  accordingly,  would  not  suffer  a 
well  meant  design  to  be  productive 
of  the  injurious  and  mournful  effects 
■which  they  at  one  time  apprehended. 
The  obvious  lesson  taught  by  the 
passage  is,  that  pure  and  pious  mo- 
tives in  our  conduct  secure  the  pre- 
sence of  God  with  us,  and  conse- 
quently an  exemption  from  the  evils 
and  disasters  that  would  be  sure  to 
follow  a  contrary  course.  '  When  a 
man's  ways  please  the  Lord,  even 
his  enemies  shall  be  at  peace  with 
him/  How  delightful  to  recognize 
the  hand  of  a  gracious  Providence 
overruling  the  most  untoward  events 
and  brightening  the  darkest  pros- 
pects, in  reference  to  his  humble  ser- 
vants, who  are  aiming  to  Avalk  in 
his  fear  !  How  desirable  to  afford  to 
others  the  evidence  that  God  is  with 
us,  and  smiling  upon  us  by  the  hap- 
py and  prosperous  results  of  all  our 
undertakings  ! ^  Ye  have  deliver- 
ed the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the 


children  of  Israel ;  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  '^  blessed  God,  and 
did  not  intend  to  go  up  against 
them  in  battle,  to  destroy  the 
land  wherein  the  children  of 
Reuben  and  Gad  dwelt. 

34  And  the  children  of  Reuben 
and  the  children  of  Gad  called 
the  altar  ^  Ed :  for  it  shall  be  a 
witness  between  us  that  the 
Lord  is  God. 


d  1  Chron.  29.  20,     Neh.  8.  6.     Dan.  2. 19. 
Luke  2.  28.      e  ch.  Si.  27. 


hand  of  the  Lord.  As  it  is  a  sinful 
and  perverse  deportment  that  deliv^crs 
us  inio  the  hand  of  God  for  puniish- 
ment,  so  it  is  only  repentance  and  a 
corresponding  humble  and  couscien- 
lious  walk,  that  will  deliver  us  oui 
of  Yds  hand.  The  effect  of  our  ex- 
ample on  the  public  welfare  should 
operate  at  once  to  deter  us  fronj 
transgression,  and  engage  us  in  the 
practice  of  every  moral  virtue. 

32.  Brotigkt  them  word  again. 
Made  a  full  and  faithful  report  of  the 
whole  transaction  upon  their  return 
to  their  brethren. 

33.  Did  not  intend  to  go  up.  Heb. 
'  said  not  to  go  up.'  So  2  Sam.  21. 
16,  'And  Ishbi-benob— thought  to 
have  slain  David ;'  Heb,  '  said  to 
have  slain;'  i.  e.  purposed,  intended. 
They  renounced  the  intention  of 
going  up.  They  had  at  first  intend- 
ed it,  but  the  statements  of  their  de- 
legates convinced  them  there  was  no 
necessity  for  it,  and  they  accordingly 

abandoned    the    idea    entirely. 

^To  destroy  the  land.  To  lay  waste, 
to  ravage,  to  make  desolate  the  land. 

34.  Called  the  altar  Ed.  It  is  re- 
markable that  the  last  word  in  this 
clause,  '  Edj'  a  witness^  is  not  found 


B   C   1427.] 


CHAPTER  XXm 


CHAPTER   XXIIL  I  that   Joshua 

AND  it  came  to  pass,  a  long 
time  after  that  the  Lord 
'  had  given  rest  unto  Israel  from 
all  their  enemies  round  about, 


ch.  21.  44,  and  22.  4. 


in  the  original,  at  least  in  the  common 
copies,  though  others  are  said  to 
contain  it,  and  it  occurs  in  the  Ara- 
bic and  Syriac  versions.  Our  trans- 
lators have  properly  supplied  it  in 
Italics,  as  it  is  the  word  which  the 
sense  evidently  requires.  How  it 
comes  to  be  lacking  in  the  common 
editions  of  the  Heb.  it  is  impossible 
to  determine.  This  altar,  upon  which 
there  was  probably  an  inscription, 
was  henceforth  to  be  a  witness  of 
the  relation  in  which  they  stood  to 
God  and  to  Israel,  and  of  their  con- 
currence with  the  rest  of  the  tribes  in 
the  great  fundamental  truth,  that 
'  the  Lord  he  is  God,'  he  and  no  other, 
and  that  he  was  to  be  worshipped 
in  no  other  way,  and  at  no  other 
place,  than  he  had  himself  prescrib- 
ed. It  was,  moreover,  a  witness  to 
posterity  of  their  care  to  transmit 
their  religion  pure  and  unimpaired 
to  them,  and  would  be  a  witness 
against  them,  if  ever  they  should 
forsake  God  and  turn  to  idolatry. — 
From  the  incidents  above  related  v/e 
may  gather,  (1)  That  the  best  meant 
things  may  afford  cause  of  suspicion  ; 
as  those  are  sometimes  suspected  of 
aiming  to  effect  a  breach  in  the  unity 
of  the  church,  who  are  most  dili- 
gently laboring  to  heal  her  divisions, 
and  to  preserve  to  posterity  the  purity 
of  her  doctrines  and  worship.  (2)  It 
can  do  our  brethren  no  injury  to  be 
jealous  over  them  with  a  godly  jeal- 
ousy, even  when  we  may  be   mis- 


201 

waxed    old    and 

stricken  in  age. 

2  And  Joshua  ''called  for  all 

Israel,  and  for  their  elders,  and 

for   their   heads,  and  for  their 


b  ch.  13.  1. 
1  Chron.  28.  1. 


Deut.  31.  28.      ch.  24.  1 


taken  in  our  fears.  (3)  Nothing  will 
so  soon  kindle  the  zeal  of  a  faithful 
and  devoted  spirit,  as  the  symptoms 
of  apostasy  from  God  in  others,  be- 
cause to  such  an  one  nothing  is  so 
dear  as  his  glory.  (4)  Rising  cor- 
ruptions and  dangerous  errors  should, 
in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  be  resisted 
as  soon  as  broached,  lest  the  evil 
leaven,  being  permitted  to  spread, 
should  leaven  the  whole  mass.  (5) 
The  testimony  of  a  good  conscience 
is  the  most  effectual  support  against 
the  heaviest  accusations. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

1.  A  long  time  after,  &c.  This  is 
supposed  to  have  been  in  the  last  or 
one  hundred  and  tenth  year  of  Josh- 
ua's life,  about  thirteen  or  fourteen 
years  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan, 
and  seven  after  the  div^ision  of  the 

land  among  the  tribes. 'ifOld  and 

stricken  in  years.  Heb.  G'^^D'^D  5^^  ']pT 
zak'en  ha  bayamim,  old  (and)  come, 
or  gone,  into  days. 

2.  Called  for  all  Israel,  and  for 
their  elders,  &c.  Or,  Heb.  'called 
for  all  Israel,  everi  for  their  elders,' 
&c.  clearly  indicating  that  by  '  all 
Israel,'  is  not  meant  the  whole  body 
of  the  nation  assembled  in  their  own 
persons,  but  their  elders,  heads, 
judges,  &c.,  convened  and  acting 
representatively  in  the  name  of  the 
people.  They  could  easily  commu- 
nicate the  substance  of  the  charge 
in  their  several  districts,  so  that  all 


202 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


and   for   their   officers, 


judges, 

and  said  unto  them,  I  am  old 

and  stricken  in  age  : 

3  And  ye  have  seen  all  that 
the  Lord  your  God  hath  done 
unto  all  these  nations  because 
of  you ;    for   the  '^  Lord   your 

d  Exod  14.  14.     ch.  10. 14, 42 


Israel  could  hear.  This  appears  to 
have  been  the  usual  method  of  con- 
ducting the  great  and  important  af- 
fairs of  the  nation.  See  on  Nam. 
16.  1.  Whether  this  assembly  was 
held  at  Timnath-serah,  where  Joshua 
dwelt,  or  at  Shiloh,  where  the  ark 
w^as,  it  is  not  possible  to  determine. 
From  the  solemn  object  of  the  meet- 
ing we  should  infer  that  the  latter 
was  the  place. 

3.  Yie  have  seen,  &c.  Joshua  here 
speaks  with  characteristic  modesty 
and  humility.  The  scope  of  his  ad- 
dress is  to  engage  the  covenant 
people,  and  their  seed  after  them,  to 
persevere  in  upholding  the  true  faith 
and  worship  of  the  God  of  Israel. 
In  order  to  this,  he  begins  by  putting 
them  in  mind  of  the  divine  interpo- 
sitions in  their  behalf  He  appeals 
to  what  their  own  eyes  had  seen,  but 
so  as  at  once  to  abase  himself  and 
exalt  the  Most  High.  He  does  not 
say,  'Ye  have  seen  what  I  have 
done,  or  what  you  have  done,  but 
what  God  himself  has  done.'  They 
were  mere  instruments  in  his  hand. 
It  was  no  doubt  natural  for  the  Is- 
raelites to  look  upon  their  veteran 
general,  who  had  led  them  on  from 
conquest  to  conquest,  with  the  most 
profound  rer:pect,  and  to  say,  '  Had 
we  not  had  such  a  commander,  we 
had  never  succeeded  so  remarkably 
in  obtaining  possession  of  this  goodly 
land.'    But  Joshua  will  leave  them 


God  is  he  that  hath  fought  foi 
you. 

4  Behold,  ^  I  have  divided  unto 
you  by  lot  these  nations  that  re- 
main, to  be  an  inheritance  foi 
your  tribes,  from  Jordan,  with 
all  the  nations  that  I  have  cut 

e  ch.  13.  2,  6,  and  IS.  10. 


no  ground  for  such  reflections.  He 
will  not  divide  the  glory  of  their  suc- 
cess with  God.  He  shows  them  that 
their  enemies  had  been  defeated,  not 
b}'-  his  prowess  or  theirs,  but  solely 
because  the  Lord  their  God  had 
fought  for  them.  The  battle  was  the 
Lord's,  and  not  his,  and  He  was  en- 
titled to  all  the  glory.  This  senti- 
ment is  strikingly  reiterated  by  the 
Psalmist,  Ps,  44.  3,  '  For  they  got  not 
the  land  in  possession  by  their  own 
sword,  neither  did  their  own  arm 
save  them  ;  but  thy  right  hand,  and 
thine  arm,  and  the  light  of  thy  coun- 
tenance, because  thou  hadst  a  favor 
unto  them.'  The  leader  of  Israel,  in 
these  words,  speaks  the  language  of 
every  pious  heart,  in  view  of  every 
species  of  worldly  success  and  pros- 
perity. 

4.  /  have  divided  unto  you  by  lot. 
Heb.  tdb  ^n^£n  hippalti   lakem,  1 

have  coMsed  lo    fall  unto  you. 

IF  Those  nations  that  remain.  That 
remain  yet  unconquered  ;  where 
'nations'  stands  for  the  land,  or 
country  which  they  occupied  ;  as  on 
the  contrary,  '  land '  often  stands  for 
'nation,' or 'people.'  Remnants  of 
the  devoted  Canaanites  still  lingered 
about  the  country,  though  their  ar- 
mies had  long  since  been  broken  to 
pieces,  and  they  were  disabled  from 
making  any  eflTectual  head  against 
Israel. 

5.  And  drive  them  frorn  out — and  v« 


B.  C.  142?.] 


CHAPTER  XXIll. 


203 


off,  even  unto  the  great  sea  west- 
ward. 

5  And  the  Lord  your  God, 
^  he  shall  expel  them  from  be- 
fore you,  and  drive  them  from 
out  of  your  sight ;  and  ye  shall 
possess  their  land,  "  as  the  Lord 
your  God  hath  promised  unto 
you. 

6  ^  Be  ye  therefore  very  cour- 
ageous to  keep  and  to  do  all  that 


f  Exod.  23.  30,  and  33.  2,  and  34.  U.  Deut. 
11.  23.  ch.  13.  6.  g  Num.  33.  53.  i,  ch. 
1.  7. 


shaU  possess.  The  same  Heb.  word, 
TZJ^i  y  a  rash,  is  here  used  to  signify, 
t-o  expel  from  an  inheritance^  and  to 
succeed  those  thus  expelled.  Ye  shall 
disinherit  them  from  before  you,  and 
ye  shall  inherit  the  land  in  their 
stead. 

6.  Be  ye  thtnfore  very  courageous 
tv  keep  and  to  do.  See  observations 
on  ch.  1.  7-9. 

7.  That  ye  come  not  among  t^tese 
nations.  That  ye  have  no  familiar 
intercourse,  nor  form  intimate  con- 
nexions with  them  •  which  could  not 
be  done  without  contracting  some 
measure  of  the  defilement  which 
their  idolatries  and  iniquities  had 
brought  upon  them.  '  Evil  commu- 
nications corrupt  good  manners.' 
The  prohibition,  as  appears  from  v. 
13,  is  pointed  especially  at  intermar- 
riages with  their  heathen  neighbors. 

IT  Neither  make  mention  of  the 

name  of  their  gods.  Or,  Heb.  TT^Stn 
tazkiru,  cause  to  be  remembered.  In- 
stead of  showing  the  least  respect  to 
their  idols,  they  were  to  endeavor,  on 
the  contrary,  to  bury  the  remem- 
brance of  them  in  perpetual  oblivion  ; 
let  their  very  names  be  forgotten.  So 
David  says  of  false  gods,  Ps.  16.  4, 


is  written  in  the  book  of  the  law 
of  Moses, '  that  ye  turn  not  aside 
therefrom  to  the  right  hand  or 
io  the  left ; 

7  That  ye  ^  come  not  among 
these  nations,  these  that  remain 
among  you ;  neither  '  make 
mention  of  the  name  of  their 
gods,  nor  cause  to  swear  by  them^ 
neither  serve  them,  nor  bow 
yourselves  unto  them : 

i  Dent.  5.  Z2.  and  28.  14.  k  Exod.  23.  33. 
Deut.  7.  2,  3.  Prov.  4.  14.  Ephes.  5.  11. 
I  Exod.  23.  13.  Ps.  16.  4.  Jer.  5.  7.  Zeph. 
1.5.     Num.  32.  38. 

'  Their  names  will  I  not  take  up  into 
my  lips.'  On  the  same  principle, 
God  says,  Hos.  2.  16,  17,  '  At  that 
day  thou  shalt  call  me  Ishi ;  and  shall 
call  me  no  more  Baali.  For  I  will 
take  away  the  names  of  Baalim 
out  of  her  mouth,  and  they  shall  no 
more  be  remembered  by  their  name. 
Though  Baali  and  Ishi  signify  the 
same  thing,  yet  as  the  former  was 
the  appropriated  name  of  idols,  he 
would  have  it  no  longer  employed, 
even  in  reference  to  himself.  The 
habitual  mention  of  the  names  of 
idols  would  go  gradually  to  diminish 
the  abhorrence  in  which  they  were 
bound  to  hold  them,  and  eventually 
to  introduce  the  custom  of  swearing 
by  them  in  common  discourse.  This 
would  infallibly  tend  to  the  general 
prevalence,  if  not  to  the  formal  es- 
tablishment of  idolatrous  practices 
among  them.  In  like  manner  it  may 
be  .seriously  questioned,  whether  the 
paintings,  statues,  and  poems,  which 
abound  in  Christian  countries,  re- 
plete with  allusions  to  the  detestable 
heathen  mythology,  have  not  a  most 
pernicious  effect  in  lessening  a  just 
abhorrence  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
idolatry,  and  thus    subserving    the 


204 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


8  But  "cleave  unto  the  Lord 
your  God,  as  ye  have  done  unto 
this  day. 

9  °  For  the  Lord  hath  driven 
out  from  before  you  great  na- 
tions and  strong  :  but  as  for  you, 
"  no  man  hath  been  able  to  stand 
before  you  unto  this  day. 

m  Deut.  10.  20,  and  11.  22,  and  13.  4.  ch. 
22.  5.    n  Deut.  11.  23.    o  di.  1.  5. 

cause  of  scepticism,  infidelity,  and 

vice, IT  Nor   cause    to  swear  by 

them.  To  swear  by  any  god  was 
virtually  to  acknowledge  him  as  a 
witness  and  avenger  in  the  case  of 
the  violation  of  contracts,  and  so  in 
effect  a  suitable  object  of  religious 
worship.  It  is  implied  that  they 
were  not  to  make  any  covenants 
with  idolaters,  because  in  confirming 
their  covenants  they  would  swear  by 
their  idols.  '  Let  no  Israelite  be  a 
party  to  any  transaction  which  should 
involve  such  a  consequence.  Nei- 
ther swear  by  them  yourselves,  nor 
cause  others  by  your  procurement  to 
do  it.'  By  neglecting  these  slighter 
occasions  of  idolatry  they  might  be 
imperceptibly  betrayed  into  it,  and 
led  along  by  degrees,  till  they  had 
finally  reached  its  highest  step,  which 
was  serving  false  gods,  and  bowing 
down  to  them,  in  direct  transgression 
of  the  letter  of  the  second  command- 
ment. 

8.  Cleave  unto  the  Lord  your  God, 
&c.  Delight  in  him,  depend  upon 
him,  devote  yourselves  to  his  glory, 
and  continue  to  do  so  unto  the  end, 
as  you  have  done  unto  this  day ; 
ever  since  arriving  in  Canaan.  For 
since  that  time,  though  there  might 
have  been  many  things  more  or  less 
amiss  among  them,  ye-t  the  nation  at 
large  had  behaved  much  better  than 


10  pQne  man  of  you  shall 
chase  a  thousand  :  for  the  Lord 
your  God,  he  it  is  that  fighteth 
for  you,  ''  as  he  hath  promised 
you. 

1 1  '  Take  good  heed  therefore 
unto  yourselves,  that  ye  love 
the  Lord  your  God. 

P  Lev.  26.  8.  Dent.  32.  30.  Judg.  3.  31, 
and  15.  15.  2  Sam.  23.  8.  q  Exod.  ]4.  14, 
and  23.  27.  Deut.  3.  22.  r  ch.  22.  5. 


they  did  in  the  wilderness,  and  had 
not  been  guilty  of  any  open  or  gross 
apostasy  from  God,  but  had  followed 
him  with  exemplary  fidelity. 

9,  For  the  Lord  hath  driven  out. 
Or,  as  the  original  will  admit  of  be- 
ing rendered,  'and  the  Lord  will 
drive  out/  &c.,  and  so  the  whole 
verse  may  be  rendered  in  the  future 
instead  of  the  past,  in  which  case  it 
will  connect  more  easily  and  natu- 
rally with  the  verse  ensuing, IFA'a 

man  hath  been  able  to  stand  before  you. 
That  is,  when  it  actually  came  to  an 
issue.  Some  of  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants did  indeed  yet  remain  uncon- 
quered,  but  in  every  engagement  the 
Israelites  came  ofi"  victorious.  In  this 
sense  no  man  had  been  able  to  stand 
before  them.  Wherever  an  enemy 
had  been  encountered  he  had  been 
overcome, 

11.  T.''ake  good  heed  therefore  unto 
yourselves.  Intimating  the  condition 
on  which  the  foregoing  promise 
should  be  made  good  to  them.  Let 
not  the  assurance  of  the  divine  fa- 
vor, presence,  and  protection ,  tend  to 
relax  your  diligence,  or  weaken  the 
sense  of  obligation  to  love  and  serve 
him ;  on  the  contrary,  let  it  operate 
as  an  additional  motive  to  the  most 
iniense  affection  and  devotedness 
towards  your  heavenly  benefactor. 
As  the  temptations  arising  from  tho 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


205 


12  Else  if  ye  do  in  any  wise 
■go  back^  and  cleave  unto  the 
remnant  of  these  nations,  even 
these  that  remain  among  you, 
and  shall  '  make  marriages  with 
them,  and  go  in  unto  them,  and 
they  to  you  : 

13  Know  for  a  certainty  that 
"the  Lord  your  God  will  no 
more  drive  out  any  of  these  na- 


s  Heb.  10.  38,  39.  2  Pet.  2.  20,21. 
7.  3.    u  Judg.  2.  3. 


t  Deut. 


presence  of  your  corrupt  neighbors, 
and  your  own  peace  and  prosperity, 
are  greater  than  they  were  in  the 
v/ilderness,  it  will  require  greater 
watchfulness  and  diligence  to  keep 
yourselves  continually  approved  in 
the  sight  of  heaven. 

13.  Knov:i  for  a  certainty.     Heb. 
"I2>"iin   yiT"     yadoa     tidu,    knovjing 

thou  Shalt  know. If  They  shall  be 

snares  and  traps  unto  you.  You  will 
be  caught  by  their  wiles ;  their  baits 
and  allurements  will  seduce  you  into 
crime,  into  a  participation  of  their 
vile  impieties;  and  as  a  consequence 
of  this,  taking  advantage  of  your 
weakness,  they  will  vex  and  harass, 
torment  and  oppress  you,  and  as  wil- 
ling though  unconscious  instruments 
in  the  hand  of  a  chastising  provi- 
dence, will  be  as  continual  goads, 
spurs,  or  scourges  in  your  sides,  or 
as  annoying  thorns  in  your  eyes. 
They  will  kill  or  drive  away  your 
cattle,  burn  or  steal  your  harvests,  lay 
waste  your  vineyards,  alarm  or  plun- 
der your  houses,  and  in  a  thousand 
ways  be  a  perpetual  source  of  trou- 
ble. Nay,  so  completely  shall  they  at 
length  obtain  the  ascendency,  that 
your  respective  conditions  shall  be 
reversed  ;  instead  of  exterminating 
them  from  the  bounds   of  Canaan, 

IvS 


tions  from  before  you :  "^  but 
they  shall  be  snares  and  traps 
unto  you,  and  scourges  in  your 
sides,  and  thorns  in  your  eyes, 
until  ye  perish  from  oiF  this 
good  land  which  the  Lord  your 
God  hath  given  you. 

14  And  behold,  this  day  ^I 
am  going   the   way    of  all  the 

X  Exod.  23.  33.  Num.  33.  55.  Deut.  7. 
16.  1  Kings  11.  4.  y  1  Kings  2.  2.  Heb. 
9.  27. 

you  shall  yourselves  fall  before  them, 
or  be  utterly  driven  from  your  inher- 
itance, from  the  '  good  land'  which 
the  Lord  himself  hath  given.  What 
could  tend  more  powerfully  to  arm 
their  spirits  against  the  forbidden  al- 
liances than  the  prospect  of  such  ca- 
lamities as  these '? M  Scourges  m 

your  sides,  and  thorns  in  your  eyes. 
'What!'  says  a  wife  to  her  angry 
husband, '  am  I  a  thorn  in  your  eyes  V 
'  Alas  !  alas !  he  has  seen  another ;  I 
am  now  a  thorn  in  his  eyes.'  '  Were 
I  not  a  tho'rn  in  his  eyes,  his  anger 
would  not  burn  so  long.'  '  My  old 
friend  Tamban  never  looks  at  my 
house  now,  because  it  gives  him 
thorns  to  his  eyes.'     Roberts. 

14.  Going  the  icay  of  all  the  earth. 
About  to  die,  to  go  into  the  grave. 
To  die  is  in  a  sense  to  go  a  journey, 
a  journey  to  our  long  home  ;  it  is  the 
way  of  all  the  earth,  the  way  that 
all  mankind  must  go  sooner  or  later. 
Joshua  felt  himself  near  his  end,  and 
he  would  have  his  people  look  upon 
him  and  listen  to  him  as  a  dying  man, 
that  so  his  words  might  sink  the 
deeper  into  their  hearts.  He  would 
spend  his  last  breatli  in  taking  them 
to  witness  that  God  had  been  punc- 
tiliously faithful  to  every  promise, 
and  in  solemnly  assuring  them  that 


206 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


earth  ;  and  ye  know  in  all  your 
hearts  and  in  all  your  souls,  that 
'  not  one  thing  hath  failed  of  all 
the  good  things  which  the  Lord 
your  God  spake  concerning  you ; 
all  are  come  to  pass  unto  you, 
and  not  one  thing  hath  failed 
thereof. 

15  *  Therefore  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  that  as  all  good  things  are 
come  upon  you,  which  the  Lord 
your  God  promised  you ;  so 
shall  the  Lord  bring  upon  you 
^all  evil  things,  until  he  have 
destroyed  you  from  off  this  good 

zch.21.45.  Luke  21.  33.  a  Deut.  28.  63. 
b  Lev.  26.  16.    Deut.  28.  15,  16,  &c. 

every  threatening,  however  fearful, 
would   receive  an   equally    certain 

and  exact  accomplishment. IT  Ye 

know — that  not  one  thing  hath  failed, 
&c.  The  same  appeal  which  is 
here  made  by  Joshua  to  Israel  after 
sixty  years'  experience,  maybe  made 
to  eveiy  believer  that  ever  lived. 
We  may  bring  forth  every  promise 
from  the  Bible,  and  then  search  the 
annals  of  the  world,  and  inquire  of 
every  creature  in  it,  and  one  single 
instance  will  be  sought  in  vain  of 
God's  violating  or  forgetting  a  prom- 
ise. The  accomplishment  may  have 
been  delayed  or  brought  to  pass  in  a 
way  that  was  not  expected,  but  the 
whole  world  may  be  challenged  to 
impeach  his  veracity,  or  contradict 
the  assertion  that '  all  which  he  hath 
promised  is  come  to  pass:  not  one 
thing  hath  failed  thereof  But  let  it 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  veracity  of 
God  is  as  much  pledged  for  the  ex- 
ecution of  his  threaenings,  as  for  the 
performance  of  his  promises.  The 
one  is  a  proof  of  the  other.  Yet 
among  the  world  of  the  impenitent 


land  which  the  Lord  your  God 
hath  given  you. 

16  When  ye  have  transgressed 
the  covenant  of  the  Lord  your 
God,  which  he  commanded  you, 
and  have  gone  and  served  other 
gods,  and  bowed  yourselves  to 
them  ;  then  shall  the  anger  of 
the  Lord  be  kindled  against 
you,  and  ye  shall  perish  quickly 
from  off  the  good  land  which  he 
hath  given  unto  you. 


A 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 
ND  Joshua  gathered  all  the 
tribes  of  Israel  to  *She- 

a  Gen.  35.  4. 


where  is  there  a  mind  divested  of  the 
floating  impression,  that  mercy  will 
in  some  way  interpose  to  stay  the 
outgoings  of  wrath  1  How  many, 
alas !  are  now  experiencing  in  hell 
what  they  would  not  believe  on 
earth  !  The  subsequent  history  of 
the  chosen  people  abundantly  shows 
that  both  the  apostasy  here  deprecat- 
ed and  the  threatenings  here  denoun- 
ced did  actually  take  place.  Let  then 
every  Clnistian  fear  as  he  reads,  '  If 
God  spared  not  the  natural  branches, 
take  heed  lest  he  spare  not  thee.' 
The  worldly,  carnal,  sen.sual  Chris- 
tian has  no  more  right  to  expect  in- 
dulgence from  the  justice  of  God  than 
the  disobedient  Jew. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

1.  Gathered  all  tlie  tribes.  That  iSj 
the  heads,  elders,  and  chief  men  of 
the  tribes,  though  not  them  exclu- 
sively. See  on  ch.  23  2.  Joshua 
probably  found  his  life  prolonged  be- 
yond his  expectation,  and,  like  Pe- 
ter in  his  old  age,  thinking  it  meet 
*  as  long  as  he  was  in  this  tabernacle' 


B.  C.  1427.] 

chem,  and  ^  called  for  the  elders 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


207 


ch.  23.  2. 


to  do  his  utmost  towards  'putting' 
and  keeping  his  people  '  in  remem- 
brance '  of  the  great  things  of  their 
duty,  embraces  one  more  opportu- 
nity of  convening  the  tribes  by  their 
representatives,  and  giving  them  a 
solemn  parting  charge.  The  pious 
servants  of  God  may  be  disabled 
through  age  and  infirmities  from 
continuing  their  personal  exertions, 
but  they  will  never  relax  their  zeal 
in  the  service  of  their  divine  Master  ; 
and  what  they  want  in  eifective  la- 
bors, they  will  endeavor  to  supply  by 
stimulating  and  confirming  the  zeal 
of  others.  As  Moses,  at  an  advanc- 
ed age,  renewed  the  covenant  in 
the  plains  of  Moab  which  had  been 
first  entered  into  at  Horeb  forty  years 
before,  so  Joshua  on  this  occasion 
imitates  his  example,  and  makes  it 
his  last  labor  to  engage  the  tribes  of 
Israel  once  more  to  give  themselves 
up  to  God,  in  a  perpetual  covenant. 
Thus  the  good  efiects  of  his  influ- 
ence would  remain  when  he  liim- 
self  was  taken  from  them.  '  We 
must  never  think  our  work  for  God 
done  till  oar  life  is  done ;  and  if  he 
lengthen  out  our  days  beyond  what 
we  thought,  we  must  conclude  it  is 
because  he  has  some  further  service 

for  us  to  do.'     Henry. IT  To  She- 

chem.  As  it  is  immediately  added 
that  '  they  presented  themselves  be- 
fore God,'  the  natural  inference 
would  be  that  this  transaction  took 
place  in  the  presence  of  the  ark  and 
the  tabernacle,  the  usual  meeting- 
place  of  God  and  his  people,  which 
were  now,  as  far  as  we  know,  at 
Shiloh  instead  of  Shechem.  This 
has   occasioned    some   difficulty    to 


of  Israel,  and  for  their  heads  and 
for  their  judges,  and  for  their 


commentators,  especially  as  the 
Greek  of  the  Sept.  has  S/?Xaj,  Shilo^ 
both  here  and  v.  25,  though  the  Al- 
dine  and  Complutensian  editions 
have  Si'x^f  >  Sychem,  in  both  places, 
which  leads  us  to  suppose  that  the 
former  reading  is  a  designed  alter- 
ation, made  with  a  view  to  obviate 
an  apprehended  discrepancy  in  the 
original.  At  any  rate,  there  is  no 
sufficient  ground  for  questioning  the 
genuineness  of  the  present  Hebrew 
text.  The  two  following  solutions, 
therefore,  may  be  proposed ;  either, 
(1)  By  Shechem  here  is  meant  not 
the  ciiy  so  called,  but  the  territory 
adjacent,  extending  to  the  distance 
of  several  miles,  within  the  limits 
of  which  it  is  conjectured  that  Shiloh 
stood.  But  this  is  less  likely,  as 
Shiloh  was  at  least  ten  miles  distant 
from  Shechem,  and  if  the  meeting 
had  been  at  Shiloh  Ave  can  see  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  have  been 
expressly  so  stated.  Or,  (2)  that 
Shechem  was  really  the  place  of  the 
convocation,  but  that  the  tabernacle 
was  for  the  present  occasion  trans- 
ferred thither,  as  we  learn  Judg.  20. 
1,  18 ;  1  Sam.  4.  3 ;  2  Sam.  15.  24, 
that  it  was  sometimes  on  extraordi- 
nary emergencies  temporarily  re- 
moved. There  were  several  reasons 
why  Shechem  should  be  considered 
the  most  suitable  place  for  the  assem- 
bling of  the  tribes  on  this  occasion. 
It  was  a  Levitical  city,  and  nearer 
than  Shiloh  to  Timnath-serah,  Josh- 
ua's residence,  whose  age  and  in- 
firmities might  at  this  time  have  in- 
capacitated him  from  travelling  even 
a  short  distance  from  home.  It  was 
the  place  where   the  covenant  was 


208 


officers ;    and   they   '  presented 
themselves  before  God. 

2  And    Joshua   said    unto    all 
the  people,  Thus  saith  the  Lokd 


JOSHUA 

God   of  Israel, 


c   1 


10.  19. 


first  made  with  A'raham  ages  be- 
fore, Gen.  12,  6,  7,  and  so  would  be 
a  peculiarly  appropriate  place  for 
renewing  that  covenant,  which  was 
one  end  to  be  ani^weredby  their  now 
coming  together.  It  adds  to  the 
force  of  this  reason,  that  it  was  in 
this  immediate  vicinity,  between  the 
two  mounts  Gerizim  and  Ebal,  that 
Joshua  had  before,  on  their  first  en- 
trance into  Canaan,  convened  the 
nation  for  a  similar  object,  ch.  8.  BO- 
SS. So  that  all  the  associations  con- 
nected with  the  place  would  tend 
eminently  to  heighten  the  solemnity 
and  impressivene^s  of  the  transac- 
tion in  which  they  were  about  to 
engage.  If,  moreover,  as  from  v.  32, 
many  suppose  it  was  on  this  occasion 
that  the  bones  of  Joseph,  and  per- 
haps of  the  other  patriarchs,  Acts  7. 
15,  16,  were  deposited  in  the  piece 
of  ground  which  his  father  gave  him 
near  Shechem,  it  would  constitute 
another  strong  reason  for  selecting 
this,  in  preference  to  Shilo,  as  the 
place  of  the  present  meeting.  That 
such  was  the  fact,  however,  what- 
ever might  have  been  the  reasons, 
and  whatever  the  imagined  diflical- 
ties  involved  in  the  supposition,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  long  ,as  we  ad- 
here to  the  letter  of  the  sacred  record. 

^Presented  themselves  before  God. 

As  intimated  above,  the  presumption 
is  that  this  presentation  of  themselves 
was  before  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
and  the  tabernacle,  the  visible  resi- 
dence of  God  among  his  people,  and 
row  removed  to   Shechem  to  give 


[B.  C.  1427. 

•^Your   fathers 


dwelt  on  the  other  side  of  the 
flood  in  old  time,  even  Terah, 
the  father  of  Abraham,  and  the 

d  Gen.  11.  26,  31. 


additional  solemnity  to  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  assembly.  This  impres- 
sion is  confirmed  by  v.  26,  where  it 
is  said  that  '  a  great  stone  was  set  up 
there  under  an  oak  that  was  by  the 
sanctuary  of  the  Lord ;'  i.  e.  by  the 
place  where  the  sanctuary  tempora- 
rily stood  during  the  time  of  that 
convention.  Yet  the  words  do  not 
necessarily  demand  this  construction. 
The  phrase  '  before  God,'  or  '  before 
the  Lord.'  is  sometimes  equivalent  to 
religiously,  devoutly,  as  if  under  the 
itispection  of  the  divine  eye.  Thus 
Isaac,  Gen.  27.  7,  is  said  to  have 
blessed  Jacob,  '  before  the  Lord,'  i.  e. 
as  in  his  presence,  in  his  name,  in  a 
very  solemn  and  devout  manner. 
So  Jephthah  is  said,  Judg.  11.  11,  to 
have  uttered  all  his  words  '  before  the 
Lord ;'  in  the  same  sense.  See  on  ch. 
4.  1.3. 

2.  Joshua  said  unto  all  the  people. 
All  the  people  now  assembled,  con- 
sisting mainly  of  the  glders,  chiefs, 
&c.,  V.  1,  but  in  addition  to  them  of 
such  portions  of  the  body  of  the  peo- 
ple as  found  it  convenient  to  attend. 

IT  On  the  other  side  of  the  fiood. 

That  is,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
the  river  Euphrates  ;  so  called  by 
way  of  eminence.  '  Flood  '  is  an 
unfortunate  rendering,  as  the  original 
word  is  the  common  word  for  '  river,* 
and  repeatedly  and  for  the  most  part 
so  translated  in  our  established  ver- 
sion.  IT  In  old  time.     Heb.  dbiy?2 

meolam,  from  everlasting  ;  i  e.  from 
an  indefinite  period  of  remote  an- 
tiquity ;  as  the  same  term  often  sig- 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


209 


father   of  Nachor :    and   *  they 
served  other  gods. 

3  And  'T  took  your  father 
Abraham  from  the  other  side  of 
the  tlood,  and  led  him  through- 
out all  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 

e  Gen.  31.  53.    f  Gen.  12.  1.     Acts  7.  2,  3. 


nines  an  indefinite  period  of  time  fu- 
ture.  ^  Served  other  gods.     From 

this  it  seems  clear  that  Abraham's 
grandfather  and  father,  and  j^firhaps 
himself  in  the  first  instance,  wor- 
shipped the  idols  of  the  country  in 
which  they  lired.  By  this,  however, 
we  are  probably  not  to  understand 
that  they  had  no  knowledge  of,  or 
reverence  for,  the  true  God,  but  that 
they  did  not  render  to  him  that  ex- 
clusive worship  which  was  his  due. 
In  fact,  we  may  conclude  them  to 
hav^e  been  in  much  the  same  condi- 
tion as  Laban,  who  at  a  subsequent 
period  represented  that  part  of  the 
family  which  remained  beyond  the 
Euphrates,  and  who  certainly  rever- 
enced Jehovah,  but  who  also  had 
idols  which  he  called  his  gods,  and 
the  loss  of  which  filled  him  with  vex- 
ation and  anger.  The  partial  idola- 
try of  their  ancestors,  however,  was 
humiliating  to  Israel.  Even  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  their  nation,  in 
whom  they  gloried,  and  who  was 
subsequently  so  highly  honored  of 
God,  was  born  and  bred  up  in  the 
worship  of  false  gods.  This  fact 
would  cut  off  all  vain-boasting  in  the 
worthiest  of  their  ancestors,  as  far  as 
native  character  or  early  conduct 
was  concerned.  The  father  of  the 
faithful  himself  became  what  he  M^as 
purely  by  the  grace  of  God.  and  not 
in  virtue  of  his  own  innate  tenden- 
cies to  good.  Indeed  his  ju.stification 
is  express'iy  set  forth  by  the  apostle, 
18* 


multiplied  his  seed,  and  =gave 
him  Isaac. 

4  And  I  gave  unto  Isaac  ''  Ja- 
cob and  Esau  :  and  I  gave  unto 
'  Esau  mount  Seir,  to  possess  it ; 

g  Gen.  21.  2,  3.  Ps.  127.  3.  h  Gen.  25. 
24, 2.5,  26.     i  Gen.  36.  8.    Deut.  2.  5. 


Rom.  4.  5,  as  an  instance  of  God's 
'justifying  the  ungodly.' 

3.  And  I  took  your  father  Abraham, 
&c.  I  exercised  such  an  influence 
upon  him  as  itfduced  him  to  leave 
that  land  of  Idolators ;  I  prompted 
him  to  go.  Though  no  violence 
was  employed,  it  implies  that  he 
would  never  have  gone  thence  un- 
less God  had  '  taken  '  him,  unless  by 
a  divine  impulse  he  had  moved  him 
to  go.  See  on  Gen.  2. 15,  relative  to 
God's  '  taking '  Adam  and  putting 
him  into  the  garden  of  Eden.  So 
it  is  the  special  grace  of  God  that 
'  takes  '  a  sinner  out  of  a  state  of  im- 
penitence and  unbelief,  and  puts  him 
in  the  way  to  eternal  life,  the  road 
to  the  heavenly  Canaan,  that  better 
country  where  lies  the  Inheritance 
of  the  saints. IT  Led  him  through- 
out all  the  land  of  Canaan.  Gave 
him  my  gracious  guidance  and  pro- 
tection during  all  his  wanderings 
to  and  fro  in  that  land  of  promise. 

IT  Multiplied  his  seed,  and  gave 

him  Isaac.  That  is,  multiplied  his 
seed  by  giving  him  Isaac.  As  this 
'  multiplication,'  however,  could  not 
be  said  to  be  accomplished  merely 
by  the  birth  of  a  single  son,  it  is  to  be 
understood,  not  of  Isaac  alone,  but 
of  the  long  and  spreading  line  of  his 
posterity,  among  whom  he  enume- 
rates Jacob  and  Esau,  including 
their  issue,  in  the  next  verse. 

4.  Iga.ve  unto  Esau  mount  Seir. 
See  on  Gen.  36.  7.  8.     In  order  that 


210 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


''  but  Jacob  and  his  children  went 
down  into  Egypt. 

5  '  I  sent  Moses  also  and  Aa- 
ron, and  "'  I  plagued  Egypt,  ac- 
cording tt)  that  which  I  did 
among  them  :  and  afterward  I 
brought  you  out. 

6  And  1  "  brought  your  fathers 
out  of  Egypt :  and  °  ye  came 
unto  the  sea ;  p  and  the  Egyp- 
tians pursued  after  your  fathers 
with  chariots  and  horsemen  un- 
to the  Red  sea. 

7  And  when  they  '^  cried  unto 
the  Lord,  "^he  put  darkness  be- 

k  Gen.  46.  1,  6.  Acts  7.  15.  i  Exod.  3.  10. 
ID  Exod.  7.  and  8.  and  9.  and  10.  and  12. 
"  Exod.  12.  37,  51.  o  Exod.  14.  2.  p  E.tod. 
14.  9.     q  Exod.  14.  10.     r  Exod.  14.  20. 

the  land  of  Canaan,  by  the  removal 
of  Esau,,  might  be  reserved  entire  to 

Jacob  and   his   posterity. IT  But 

Jacob  and  Ids  children  went  down 
into  Egypt.  Where  they  suiTered 
a  long  and  grievous  bondage,  the 
particulars  of  which  the  speaker  does 
not  deem  it  necessary  to  recite. 

5.  According  to  that  v-hich  I  did 
among  tJcem.  Heb.  IDIjil^S  '^ri'^yi^S' 
asilhi  bekirbo,  which  I  did  in  the 
midst  of  him.  A  peculiar  phraseol- 
ogy, and  not  capable  perhaps  of  being 
fully  reached  in  any  other  language. 
It  imples  the  essential  reality  o(  any 
thing  compared  with  the  oulM'ard 
manifestation,  sign,  or  expression  of 
it.  Thus  it  is  said  of  the  butler  and 
baker  in  pri.son,  Gen.  40.  5,  that  they 
each  dreamed  a  dream,  *  according 
to  the  interpretation  of  hi.s  dream,' 
i.  e.  one  of  which  the  event  awswereA. 
to  the  dream  itself ;  a  dream  capable 
of  n  sonnrl  interpretation,  which  .Jo- 
seph gave,  and  vviiich  ihe  acLual  i'ul- 
filment  confirmed.  So  here  the 
plagues  of  Egypt   corresponded  in 


tween  you  and  the  Egyptians, 
'  and  brought  the  sea  upon  them, 
and  covered  them  ;  and  '  your 
e^^es  have  seen  what  I  have 
done  in  Egypt:  and  ye  dwelt 
in  the  wilderness  "  a  long  season. 

8  And  I  brought  you  into  the 
land  of  the  Amorites,  which 
dwelt  on  the  other  side  Jordan ; 
""  and  they  fought  with  you  :  and 

1  gave  them  into  your  hand, 
that  ye  might  possess  their 
land  ;  and  I  destroved  them  from 
before  you. 

9  Then  ''  Balak  the  son  of  Zip- 

s  Exod.  14.  27,  28.     t  Deut.  4.  34,  and  29. 

2  u  ch  5.  6.  X  Sum.  21.  21,  33.  Deut.  2. 
32,  and  3.1.     y  Judg.  11.  25. 


fact,  in  reality,  with  all  that  had 
been  predicted  of  them  beforehand, 
with  all  that  was  recorded  of  them 
afterwards,  and  with  all  that  struck 
the  senses  at  die  time  of  their  actual 
occurrence.  There  was  no  illusion 
about  them  in  any  manner  or  degree. 

It  was  all  reality. IT   Afterward  1 

brought  you  out.  Spoken  of  tiie  pre- 
sent generation,  though  strictly  true 
only  of  their  fathers.  Of  the  usus  lo- 
quendi  here  involved,  see  note  on  ch. 
4.  23.  So  also  in  the  ensuing  verses, 
where  the  reader  will  notice  that  the 
words  your  fathers  and  ye,  tlicm  and 
you,  are  remarkably  interchanged. 

6.  Came  unto  Ihe  sea.  The  Red  Sea, 
as  is  afterwards  expressed. 

7.  Brought  the  sea  upon  them — cov- 
ered them.  Heb.  '  brought  *he  sea 
upon  him— covered  him.'  Spoken 
of,  according  to  usual  analogy,  as 
one  man. IT  Dwelt  in  the  wilder- 
ness n  In-rw  season.  A  mild  lerm  f;'- 
iheii'  being  euudeuincJ  tu  v,  anJci  lOi 
forty  years  in  the  wilderness  as  a 
punishment  for  their  sins. 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


211 


por,  king  of  Moab,  arose  and 
warred  against  Israel,  and  ^  sent 
and  called  Balaam  the  son  of 
Beor  to  curse  you  : 

10  *  But  I  would  not  hearken 
unto  Balaana ;  ^  therefore  he 
blessed  you  still :  so  I  delivered 
you  out  of  his  hand. 

11  And  "  ye  went  over  Jordan, 
and    came    unto   Jericho :    and 

z  Num.  22.5.  Deut.  23.  4.  a  Deut.  23.  5. 
b  Num.  23.  11,  20,  and  24.  10.  c  di.  3.  14, 
17,  and  4.  10,  11,  12. 

9.  The?i  Balak — arose  andioarred 
against  Israel.  From  the  previous 
history,  INum.  23  and  24.  and  also 
from  Judg.  11.  25,  it  would  appear 
that  Balak  did  not  at  any  time  ache- 
ally  engage  in  conflict  with  Israel, 
He  is  said,  therefore,  in  this  place  to 
have  'warred'  against  them  because 
he  intended  it,  because  he  cherished 
a  hostile  purpose,  and  concerted  his 
schemes  and  made  his  preparations 
accordingly.  The  Scripture  idiom 
often  speaks  of  men  as  doing  what 
they  fully  design  and  endeavor  to 
do,  and  it  is  a  very  slight  stretch  of 
language  to  denominate  him  a  war- 
ring enemy  who  has  all  the  will  and 
lacks  only  the  opportunity  to  become 
so.  See  Gen.  37.  21 ;  Ezek.  24.  13; 
Mat.  5.  28  ;  John  10.  32,  33.  A  sim- 
ilar phraseology  occurs  in  v.  11,  in 
reference  to  the  men  of  Jericho, 
which  is  perhaps  to  be  explained  on 
the  same  principle. 

10.  I  would  not  hearken  unto  Ba- 
laam. Would  not  comply  with  his 
secret  wish  and  purpose,  nor  allow 
him  to  curse  to  you ;  would  not  fall 
in  with  or  favor  the  ruling  desire  of 

his  heart. IT  Delivered  you  out  of 

his  hand.  Out  of  the  hand  of  Balak, 
and  all  the  wicked  machinations 
which  he  had  set  on  foot  against  you. 


'^the  men  of  Jericho  fought 
against  you,  the  Amorites,  and 
the  Perizzites,  and  the  Canaan- 
ites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the 
Girgashites,  the  Hivites,  and  the 
Jebusites,  and  I  delivered  them 
into  your  hand. 

12  And  "^  I  sent  the  hornet  be- 
fore you,  which  drave  them  out 
from  before  you,  even  the  two 


J  ch.  6.  1,  and  10.  1,  and  11.  1.    e  Exod. 
23.  2.S.     Deut.  7.  20. 


11.  The  men  of  Jericho  fought 
against  you.  Heb.  '  the  masters  or 
lords-  of  Jericho.'  This  is  under- 
stood by  many  expositors  of  the  ru- 
lers or  magistrates  of  Jericho,  but  as 
the  ensuing  words,  '  the  Amorites, 
the  Perizzites,'  &c  ,  seem  to  stand  in 

I  immediate  apposition  with  '  men,' 
or  masters,  we  take  it  that  they  are 
meant  by  the  term,  and  are  called 
•  masters '  of  Jericho  from  the  fact 
that  that  city  belonged  to  an  exten- 
sive confederacy  composed  of  the 
various  neighboring  nations  here 
specified,  of  whom  it  is  obviously 
true  that  they  '  fought '  against  Israel, 
and  were  signally  delivered  into 
their  hand.  If,  however,  the  phrase 
be  understood  of  the  citizens,  or  chief 
men  of  the  city  of  Jericho,  though 
they  did  not  actually  meet  Israel  in 
the  field,  yet  they  may  be  said  to  have 
fought  against  them,  inasmuch  as 
they  stood  upon  the  defensive,  and  op- 
posed them  by  shutting  their  gates, 
and  probably  in  making  what  re- 
sistance they  could  after  an  entrance 
had  been  gained  into  the  city.  See 
on  V  9. 

12.  /  sent  the  hornet  before  you. 
Understood  by  some  literally  of  lue 
insect  so  called,  by  others  figurative- 
ly of  the  anxieties,  perplexities,  and 


212 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


kings  of  the  Amorites  ;  hut  ^nol 
with  thy  sword,  nor  with  thy 
how. 

13  And  I  have  given  you  a 
land  for  which  ye  did  not  la- 
bor, and  °  cities  which  ye  built 
not,  and  ye  dwell  in  them ;  of 


13. 


f  Ps.  44.  3,  6.    g  Deut.  6.  10,  11.     ch.  11. 


pungent  terrors  which  invaded  the 
minds  of  the  Canaanites  on  the  re- 
ported approach  of  the  hosts  of  Is- 
rael. For  further  remarks  on  the 
subject,  see  on  Ex.  23.  28,  and  '  Illus- 
trations of  the  Scriptures,'  p.  QQ. 
The  writer  of  the  apocryphal  book 
entitled  *  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon,' 
seems  to  have  taken  the  words  as  lit- 
erally true,  ch,  12.  8-10,  'Never- 
theless, thou  didst  send  wasps,  fore- 
runners of  thine  host,  to  destroy  them 
by  little  and  little.  Not  that  thou 
wast  unable  to  bring  the  ungodly 
under  the  hand  of  the  righteous  in 
battle,  or  to  destroy  them  at  once 
with  cruel  beasts,  or  with  one  rough 
word  :  But  executing  thy  judgments 
by  little  and  little  thou  gavesl  them 
place  of  repentance,  not  being  igno- 
rant that  they  were  a  naughty  gene- 
ration, and  that  their  malice  was 
bred  in  them,  and  that  their  cogita- 
tion would  never  be  changed.' 

'^  Not  tcith  thy  sword^  nor  with  thy 
boio.  Not  that  these  implements  were 
not  made  use  of  in  their  wars,  but 
that  they  would  have  used  them  in 
vain  unless  God,  by  his  secret  or 
open  judgments,  had  previously  smit- 
ten and  paralysed  the  power  of  the 
enemy.  See  the  passage  before  quot- 
ed from  Ps.  44.  3. 

13.  For  ivhuh  ye  did  not  labor. 
Heb.  nS^*^  vC^  lo  yagata,  thou  didst 
not  labor.     The  whole  body  of  the 


the  vineyards  and  olive-yards 
which  je  planted  not  do  ye  eat. 
14  TT  "Now  therefore  fear  the 
Lord,  and  serve  him  in  '  sincer- 
ity and  in  truth  ;  and  put  away 
the   gods   which    your   fathers 

h  Deut.  10.  12.  1  Sam.  12.  24.  i  Gen.  17. 
1,  and  20.  5.  Deut.  18.  13.  Ps.  119.  1.  2 
Cor.  1.  12.  Eph.  6.  24.  k  ver.  2,  23.  Lev. 
17.7.    Ezek.  20  18. 


nation  addressed  collectively  as  one 

person. ^  Of  the  vineyards  and 

olive-yards — do  you  eat.  That  is,  of 
their  fruits ;  a  usage  of  speech  of  not 
uncommon  occurrence.  Thus  Gen. 
3.  11,  '  Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree, 
whereof,'  &c.,  i.  e.  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree.  So  also  Rev.  2.  7,  '  I  will  give 
to  him  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life.' 

14.  Now  therefore  fear  the  Lord, 
&c.  The  address  of  Joshua  to  Israel 
has  thus  far  been  occupied  with  a 
recital  of  the  leading  events  of  their 
national  history,  events  going  to 
show,  in  the  most  striking  manner, 
the  interposition  of  the  divine  hand 
in  their  behalf  He  would  thus  lay 
a  foundation  for  that  deep  sense  of 
obligation  and  obedience,  which  he 
aims  in  the  remainder  of  his  dis- 
course to  impress  upon  their  minds. 
From  this  point,  therefore,  he  be- 
gins a  practical  application  of  the 
various  facts  he  had  before  enume- 
rated, turning  the  whole  into  a  pow- 
erful appeal  to  the  consciences  and 

the  hearts  of  his  hearers. If  Serve 

him  in  sincerity  and  in  tridh.  In  up- 
rightness, in  integrity  ;  not  in  pre- 
tence and  outward  semblance  only, 
but  in  reality  and  in  truth.  Do  not 
serve  or  worship  other  gods  in  pri- 
vate, while  in  public,  in  the  eyes  of 
men,  you  maintain  the  form  of  the 

worship  of  the  true  God. IT  Put 

away  the  gods  which  your  fathers 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


213 


served  on  the   other  side  of  the  \  you    this    day   whom    ye   will 
flood,  and  '  in  Egypt ;  and  serve  1  serve,  whether  "the  gods  which 


ye  the  Lord. 

15  And  if  it  seem  evil  unto 
you  to  serve  the  Lord,  "'  choose 

1  Ezek.  20.  7,  8,  and  23.  3.    m  Ruth  1.  15. 
1  Kings  18.  21.    Eze^.  20.  39.     John  6.  67. 


served,  &>c.  From  the  general  cha- 
racter of  this  generation,  as  evinced 
by  their  conduct,  and  from  the  com- 
mendation bestowed  upon  them  by 
Joshua,  ch.  23.  8,  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive that  the  posiiive  practice  of 
idolatry  was  now  fairly  chargeable 
upon  them.  If  the  secret  sin  of 
Achan,  in  stealing  certain  forbidden 
articles  at  ihe  siege  of  Jericho,  brought 
i  uch  fearful  tokens  of  wrath  upon 
the  congregation,  have  we  not  rea- 
son to  suppose  that  ihe  act  of  paying 
divine  honors  to  idols,  however  hid- 
den from  human  observation,  would 
have  incurred,  at  least,  an  equal 
measure  of  divine  indignation.  And 
if  such  a  sin  were  actually  prevalent 
among  them,  how  is  it  to  be  account- 
ed for  that  Joshua  had  not  warned 
them  against  it  before  1  But  perhaps 
the  words  of  Joshua,  in  just  construc- 
tion, do  not  necessarily  force  upon 
us  such  a  sense.  The  phrase,  '  Put 
away  the  gods,'  &c.,  may  mean  sim- 
ply, keep  away,  renounce,  repudiate, 
have  nothhig  to  do  ivith,  being  equi- 
valent to  a  charge  to  pi-eserve  them- 
selves pure  from  a  contagion  to  which 
they  were  peculiarly  liable.  We 
prefer,  therefore,  to  understand  the 
expression  of  a  vigorous  and  deter- 
mined purpose  of  mind  to  which  the 
speaker  exhorts  the  chosen  people, 
while  at  the  same  time  we  cannot 
deny  that  there  may  have  been  in 
solitary  instances  some  lingering  re- 
lics of  actual  idolatry  which  Joshua 


your  fathers  served  that  were 
on  the  other  side  of  the  flood, 
or  "  the  gods  of  the  Amorites  in 

n  ver.  14.  B  Exod.  23.  24,  32,  33,  and  34 
15.  Deut.  13.  7,  and  29.  18.  Judges  6.  10. 


would  effectually  extinguish  by  this 
solemn  mandate.  But  that  the  of- 
fence was  now  prevalent  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  among  the  people, 
we  have  no  idea.  Not  but  that  there 
was  sufficient  corruption  in  their 
natures  for  such  a  propensity  to 
liv^e  and  act  upon,  but  the  tenor  of 
the  narrative  does  not,  we  conceive, 
justify  the  supposition  in  respect  to 
them  at  this  time.  We  are  warrant- 
ed, however,  in  drawing  from  Josh- 
ua's words  the  practical  inference^ 
that  God  requires  the  heart  in  his 
worship,  without  which  there  is  no 
acceptable  service ;  and  that  that  is 
still  an  idol,  to  which  our  affections 
cleave   more  than  they  do  to   God 

himself. f\  In  Egypt.     This  fact 

is  nowhere  else  expressly  asserted 
respecting  the  Israelites  in  Egypt, 
although  Ezek.  23.  3,  8,  and  Acts,  7. 
42,  43,  go  strongly  in  confirmation 
of  Joshua's  words.  Considering  the 
idolatrous  tendencies  of  human  na- 
ture, It  is  not  surprising  that  they 
should  have  suffered  themselves  to 
become  infected  with  an  evil  so 
every  where  rife  around  them,  and 
it  was,  perhaps,  in  part  owing  to  this 
that  their  sufferings  were  so  aggra- 
vated and  embittered  in  that  '  house 
of  bondage.' 

15.  If  it   seem  evil  in  your  eyes. 
Unjust,   unreasonable,    or    attended 

with  too  many  inconveniences. 

IT  Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye  will 
serve.    Not  implying  that  it  was  pre- 


214 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


whose  land  ye  dwell  :  ''but  as  |  for  me  and  my  house,  wo  will 

I  serve  the  Lord. 

P  Gen.  >-'.  1.). 


viously  a  matter  of  indifference,  Avlie- 
ther  they  served  God  or  no,  or  that 
they  were  really  at  liberty  to  refuse 
his  service  if  they  saw  fit.  He 
adopts  this  rhetorical  mode  of  speech, 
in  order  to  impress  upon  them  more 
forcibly  a  sense  of  their  duty,  and 
the  utter  absurdity,  as  well  as  im- 
piety, of  devoting  themselves  to  any 
other  than  the  true  God.  It  is  a 
striking  way  of  bringing  the  matter 
to  an  issue.  His  aim  is  to  bring 
them  to  a  decided  stand ;  to  a  free, 
intelligent,  firm,  and  lasting  choice 
of  God  as  their  portion.  In  effecting 
this  he  makes  use  of  a  style  of  ad- 
dress which  evidently  implies  that 
the  service  of  idols  compared  with 
the  service  of  God  is  so  irrational, 
absurd,  and  brutish,  that  no  man  in 
the  calm  exercise  of  his  understand- 
ing could  hesitate  which  to  choose. 
If  reason  and  conscience  could  but 
be  allowed  to  speak,  they  would  not 
fail  to  speak  on  the  side  of  God.  A 
similar  course,  having  the  same  ob- 
ject in  view,  was  pursued  by  Elijah, 
I  Kings  18.  21,  who  *  came  unto  all 
the  people,  and  said,  How  long  halt 
ye  between  two  opinions  1  If  the 
Lord  be  God,  follow  him ;  but  if 
Baal,  then  follow  him.'  The  grand 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  mode 
of  address  is, — that  the  service  of 
God  is  matter  of  voluntary  choice, 
and  that  it  is  his  will  that  we  should 
all  seriously  and  solemnly  make  this 
choice.  He  would  have  us  weigh 
the  matter  well,  compare  the  respect- 
ive claims  of  his  service  and  the 
service  of  sin  and  the  world,  and  if 
our  candid  judgment,  as  it  surely 
"will,  pronounces  on  the  side  of  that 


which  is  good,  and  true,  and  right, 
and  saving,  to  resolve  at  once  to  em- 
brace it,  and  adhere  to  it  with  a  con- 
stancy stronger  than  death.  As  the 
evidences  in  favor  of  religion  are  so 
clear  and  indisputable,  and  its  in- 
finite advantages  so  obvious,  the  man 
who  declines  making  the  choice  here 
enjoined  must  be  considered  as  de- 
liberately preferring  Satan  to  Christ, 
death  to  life,  hell  to  heaven.  He 
who  acknoifle/iges  the  paramount 
claims  of  God  and  his  Gospel,  and 
yet  does  not  act.  accordingly,  doe.s 
not  sincerely  and  solemnly  choose  his 
service,  as  that  better  part  which 
cannot  be  taken  from  him,  must 
stand  self-condemned  both  here  and 

hereafter. ^  As  for  me  and   my 

house^  2ve  ivill  serve  the  Lord.  Ye 
may  act  your  pleasure  in  this  matter, 
but  whatever  may  be  your  election,  1 
am  decided  as  to  my  own  course. 
As  far  as  myself  and  my  household 
are  concerned,  the  question  whom 
we  shall  serve  is  settled.  Whatever 
halting  or  wavering  there  may  be 
in  other  cases,  there  is  none  in  mine. 
This  declaration  of  their  venerated 
leader,  while  devoid  of  the  least  air 
of  dictation,  and  apparently  leaving 
them  the  most  unrestrained  liberty 
of  choice,  was  in  fact  the  most  pow- 
erful argument  he  could  have  used 
to  influence  their  minds  in  the  di- 
rection he  wished.  For  the  force  of 
example  is  in  proportion  to  the  depth 
of  respect  and  estimation  in  which 
an  individual  is  held,  and  he  could 
!  not  fail  to  perceive  that  the  rever- 
I  ence  with  which  he  was  regarded 
1  would  give  to  his  example  a  weight 
!  and  authority  almost  amounting  to 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


215 


16  And  the  people  answered, 
and  said,  God  forbid  that  we 
should  forsake  the  Lord,  to 
serve  other  gods  ; 


absolute  law.  Gratitude  for  his 
services,  confidence  in  his  wisdom, 
and  love  for  his  person  would  all 
combine  to  make  his  conduct  a  pat- 
tern for  theirs ;  and  how  blessed  is 
it  when  those  who  possess  these  im- 
mense adv^antages  for  exerting  a  salu- 
tary influence  on  others,  are  dispos- 
ed, like  Joshua,  to  make  it  available 
to  the  salvation  of  their  fellow-men  ! 
This  noble  resolutio  nof  the  captain 
of  Israel  obviously  suggests  the  fol- 
lowing reflections ;  (Ij  The  service 
of  God  is  nothing  below  the  most 
distinguished  of  men.  It  is  no  di- 
minution of  their  greatness,  no  dis- 
paragement of  their  rank,  reputation, 
or  honor,  to  be  decidedly  pious,  and 
to  be  openly  and  avowedly  so.  On 
the  contrary,  it  heightens  every  other 
distinction,  and  makes  all  honor  still 
more  honorable.  (2)  In  regard  to  the 
great  interests  of  religion  and  the 
soul,  we  are  to  be  concerned  for  oth- 
ers, particularly  our  households,  as 
well  as  for  ourselves.  It  should  be 
our  earnest  aim  to  unite  our  families, 
our  wives,  children,  and  servants, 
those  that  come  under  our  special 
care  and  influence,  with  us  in  every 
pious  resolution  and  labor.  Heads 
of  households  should  feel  not  only 
anxiety,  but  deep  responsibility,  in  re- 
spect to  those  thus  entrusted  to  their 
charge.  (3)  Those  that  lead  and 
rule  in  other  things  should  be  first  in 
the  service  of  God,  and  go  before  in 
every  good  work.  (4)  We  should 
resolve  to  do  right  and  to  do  good, 
whatever  others  may  do.  Though 
others  may  desert  the  cause  of  God., 


17  For  the  Lord  our  God,  he 
it  is  that  brought  us  up,  and  our 
fathers,  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
from  the  house  of  bondao;e,  and 


we  should  stand  by  it  at  all  hazards, 
whatever  charge  of  singularity  or 
expression  of  popular  odium  it  may 
bring  upon  us.  '  Those  that  are 
bound  for  heaven  must  be  willing  to 
swim  against  the  stream,  and  must 
not  do  as  the  most  do,  but  as  the  best 
do.'     Henry. 

16.  The  people  answered  and  said, 
God  forbid,  &c.  Joshua  has  the 
pleasure  of  finding  the  people  ready 
from  their  hearts  to  concur  with  him 
in  his  pious  resolution.  By  an  em- 
phatic expression,  denoting  the  great- 
est dread  and  detestation  imaginable, 
they  show  that  they  startle  at  the 
thought  of  apostatizing  from  God,  as 
if  it  would  imply  their  being  utterly 
lost  to  justice,  gratitude,  honor,  and 
ev^ery  generous  feeling.  At  the  same 
time,  they  give  such  substantial  rea- 
sons for  their  choice,  as  to  show  that 
it  was  not  purely  out  of  compliment 
to  Joshua,  highly  as  they  esteemed 
him,  that  they  made  it,  but  from  a 
full  conviction  of  its  intrinsic  rea- 
sonableness and  equity.  They  pro- 
fessedly and  justly  found  their  obli- 
gations, first  on  the  consideration  of 
the  great  and  merciful  things  which 
God  had  done  for  them,  in  bringing 
them  out  of  Egypt  through  the  wil- 
derness into  Canaan,where  they  were 
now  planted  in  peace  ;  and,  secondly, 
of  the  relation  in  which  they  stood 
to  God  as  a  covenant  people.  '  He  is 
our  God  ;'  he  has  graciously  engaged 
himself  by  promise  to  us,  and  we 
have  bound  ourselves  by  solemn  vow 
to  him.  Woe  be  to  us  if  we  prove  false 
and  treacherous  to  our  plighted  faith. 


216 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


which  did  those  great  signs  in 
our  sight,  and  preserved  us  in 
all  the  V  ay  wherein  Ave  went, 
andamotigallthe  people  through 
whom  we  passed : 

18  And  the  Lord  drave  out 
from  before  us  all  the  people, 
even  the  Amorites  which  dwelt 
in  the  land :  therefore  will  we 

q  Matt.  6.  24.    r  Lev.  19.  2.    1  Sam.  6.  20 

19.  Ye  cannot  serve  the  Lord,  &c. 
It  cannot  be  supposed  for  a  moment 
that  Joshua  intended  to  deter  the 
people  from  the  service  of  God  by 
representing  it  as  impracticable  or 
dangerous.  On  the  contrary,  his  de- 
sign is  to  enlist  them  more  sincerely 
and  steadfastly  in  it,  but  his  know- 
ledge of  the  weakness  and  corruption 
of  our  fallen  nature,  prompted  him 
to  do  this  in  a  manner  that  savors 
of  discouragement  and  repulsiv^e- 
ness.  Finding  them  now  animated 
by  a  glowing  zeal,  forward  and  abun- 
dant in  their  professions,  and  uncon- 
sciously prone  to  trust  to  their  own 
strength,  Joshua,  in  these  words, 
designs  to  administer  a  wholesome 
check  to  their  ardor,  by  setting  im- 
pressively before  them  the  holy  and 
sin-avenging  character  of  the  God 
with  whom  they  had  to  do,  and  the 
fearful  consequences  of  disobedience 
and  apostasy.  This  would  beat  them 
off  from  that  overweening  self-confi- 
dence which  they  were  so  prone  to 
indulge.  It  would  convince  them 
that  it  was  no  light  and  easy  matter 
to  persevere  in  the  strict  observance 
of  the  divine  precepts,  and  thus  they 
would  be  more  cautious,  circum- 
spect, and  humble  in  their  profes- 
sions, and  go  forward  in  their  walk 
with  more  awe  upon  their  spirits, 
and  a  more  trembling  sense  of  their 


also  serve  the  Lord  ;  for  he  is 
our  God. 

19  And  Joshua  said  unto  the 
people,  "^  Ye  cannot  serve  the 
Lord  :  for  he  is  a  '  holy  God  : 
he  is  ^  a  jealous  God  ;  '  he  will 
not  forgive  your  transgressions, 
nor  your  sins. 

Ps.  99.  5.  9.  Isa.  5.  16.  s  Exod.  20.  5.  t  Exod 
23.  21.    ' 


dependence  on  a  higher  power  than 
their  own.  This  Joshua  well  knew 
was  the  only  frame  of  mind  which 
could  be  trusted  to  for  permanent  and 
happy  resulis,  and  he  therefore  aims 
to  have  their  present  lively  zeal 
based  upon  the  only  foundation  that 
would  ensure  its  continuance.  He 
would  have  them  count  the  cost  of 
the  engagements  into  which  they  pro- 
posed to  enter,  and  be  fully  avrare  of 
the  temptations,  tribulations,  conflicts 
and  self-denials  which  they  would 
involve ;  and  above  all  would  have 
their  inmost  souls  pervaded  by  a 
deep  and  av-ful  reverence  of  God,  the 
essential  principle  of  all  true  religion. 
In  like  manner,  it  deserves  very  se- 
rious deliberation  whether  there  is 
not  danger  of  representing  the  sincere 
service  of  God  as  a  matter  of  very 
little  ditficuli}^  provided  only  there 
be  evidence  of  a  present  vigorous  re- 
solution, and  whether  it  be  not  better 
in  such  cases  wisely  to  repress,  chas- 
ten, and  even  dampen  the  warmth  of 
present  zeal  by  considerations  like 
those  which  Joshua  now  pressed 
upon  the  children  of  Israel.  The 
same  infallible  authority  which  as- 
sures us  that  the  yoke  of  Christ  is  easy 
and  his  burden  light,  assures  us  also 
that  the  gate  is  strait,  and  the  w^ay 
narrow,  that  leads  to  life,  and  that 
there  is  need  of  striving  as  well  as 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


217 


20  "  If  ye  forsake  the  Lord, 
and  serve  strange  gods,  ""  then 
he  wiii  turn  and  do  you  hurt, 

u  1  Chron.  23.  9.  2  Chron.  13.  2.  Ezra 
8.  22.  Isa.  1.  2S,  and  05.  11,  12.  Jer.  17.  13. 
X.  ch.  23.  15.     Ida.  03.  10.     Acts  7.  42. 


seeking  to  enter  in.  Certain  it  is, 
that  great  wisdom  is  requisite  in 
every  spiritual  guide  in  digging 
deep  and  laying  the  foundations 
sure  of  a  life  of  consistent,  uniform, 
and  devoted  piety.  Nor  are  we  of 
opinion  that  the  policy  of  such  emi- 
nent servants  of  God,  as  Moses, 
Joshua,  Samuel,  Peter,  and  Paul, 
will  ever  be  out  of  date  in  the  church. 
The  more  the  sinner  despairs  of  his 
own  sufhcienc3%.the  better  security 
will  he  give  for  his  ultimate  stability 

and   perseverance  in   the  faith. 

IT  He  is  an  holy  God.  Heb.  DTibit 
f^IDlp  eloliim  kedosliivi,  he  is  holy 
Gods  ;  the  adjective  being  plural  as 
well  as  the  subs'.antive.  The  expres- 
sion is  remarkable  and  contrary  to 
usual  analogy,  but  whether  carrying 
with  it  any  special  implication  in  re- 
gard to  the  divine  nature,  it  is  per- 
haps impossible  to  say.  We  imagine, 
on  the  whole,  that  to  a  Hebrew^ear 
the  phrase  would  merely  convey  the 
idea  of  more  emphasis,  solemnity, 
and  awfulness  in  respect  to  the  at- 
tribute here  affirmed  of  Jehovah. 

^  He  is  a.  jealous  God.  As  he  has  no 
equal,  so  neither  can  he  suffer  a 
rival.  To  pay  to  idols  that  worship 
which  he  alone  deserves,  or  even  to 
associate  them  with  the  homage 
which  is  paid  to  him,  is  to  contest 
with  him,  to  take  from  a  part  of  that 
perfect  holiness  which  constitutes 
his  glory,  and  is  what  the  Scriptures 

call  profaning  his  holy  name. 

^Will  not  forgive.  Or,  Heb.  fcillJi  i^^ 
loyissa,  ivill  not  bear,  will  not  tolerate. 
19 


and  consume  you,  after  that  he 
hath  done  you  good. 

21  And  the  people  said  unto 
Josfiua,  Nay  ;  but  we  will  serve 
the  Lord. 


The  meaning  is,  not  that  God  was  im- 
placable, or  that  he  would  not  show 
mercy  to  the  penitent,  howev^er  great 
their  sins,  but  that  they  could  not  of- 
fend against  him  with  impunity,  that 
hewould  certainly  punish  their  trans- 
gressions. However  it  might  be 
with  others,  they  would  be  sure  to  be 
visited  for  their  iniquities. 

20.  Strange  gods.  Heb.  ^--3  ^11^5% 
eloh'e  n'ekar,  gods  of  the  stranger  or 

foreigner. IT  2%en  he  will  turn, 

&c.  Not  in  himself  or  in  his  dispo- 
sitions towards  his  creatures,  for  we 
are  elsewhere  told  that  with  him  there 
is  '  no  variableness  nor  the  least  sJia- 
dow  of  turning.^  But  the  character 
of  his  dispensations,  the  course  of 
his  providence  towards  them  should 
be  entirely  changed,  in  view  of  the 
change  in  their  conduct  towards  him. 
He  would  henceforward  be  as  severe 
and  vindictive,  as  he  had  belbrebeen 

kind    and    gracious. IT   Consume 

you,  after  that  he  hath  done  you  good. 
Nothing  so  embitters  the  judgments 
of  God,  as  the  reflection  that  they 
have  been  incurred  after  the  experi- 
ence of  his  tender  mercies.  The 
fact  that  we  have  made  liim  to  re- 
pent of  his  past  kindnesses  to  us, 
and  forget  all  the  good  he  had 
wrought  in  our  behalf,  barbs  and  en- 
venoms the  arrow  of  remorse  beyond 
the  power  of  language  to  describe. 

21.  We  will  serve  the  Lord.  This 
shows  that  they  understood  the  words 
of  Joshua  to  imply  no  moral  inability 
on  their  side,  and  notwithstanding 
his  statement  of  difficulties,  and  the 


21S 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1427. 


22  And  Joshua  said  unto  the 
people,  Ye  are  witnesses  against 
yourselves  that  ^  ye  have  chosen 
you  the  Lord,  to  serve  him. 
And  they  said,  We  are  wit- 
nesses. 

23  Now  therefore  ^  put  aw^ay 
i^saidhe)  the  strange  gods  which 
are  among  you,  and  inchneyour 


y  Ps.  119.  173.  z  ver.  14.  Gen.  35.  2.  Judg. 
10.  16.     1  Sam.  7.  3. 


seeming  discouragements  which  he 
throws  in  their  way,  but  which  are 
really  intended  to  quicken  and  in- 
vigorate their  resolutions,  they  de- 
clare a  firm  and  fixed  purpose  of 
obedience.  In  so  saying  they  did 
virtually  confirm  and  ratify  by  their 
own  express  consent  the  covenant 
which  Joshua  would  now  impose 
upon  them,  and  by  voluntarily  en- 
gaging, as  he  intimated  would  be  the 
case,  to  be  witnesses  against  them- 
selves, provided  they  turned  aside 
from  God,  they  did  in  efiect  aflix 
Iheir  name  and  seal  to  that  solemn 
covenant,  and  bind  themselves  under 
fearful  sanctions  to  its  faithful  ob- 
servance. Thus  we  have  a  sacred 
renewal,  an  authentic  confirmation, 
of  the  covenant  into  which  their  fa- 
thers had  entered  with  God,  as  their 
King,  Ex.  12  and  24,  which  after  this 
they  could  no  more  infringe,  without 
being  guilty  in  the  highest  degree  of 
perjury. 

23.  Put  away  the  strange  gods, 
&c.  See  above  on  v.  14.  Rabbi 
Levi,  son  of  Ger.son,  a  Jewish  com- 
mentator, remarks  upon  this  pas- 
sage, that  Joshua  '  says  this  to  them, 
in  order  that  if  their  hearts  had  been 
enticed  by  any  of  the  idolatries  of 
the  people  of  that  land,  they  should 
fut  away  the  pernicious  thoughts  that 


heart  unto  the  Lord  God  of  Is- 
rael. 

24  And  the  people  said  unto 
Joshua,  the  Lord  our  God  will 
we  serve,  and  his  voice  will  we 
obey. 

25  So  Joshua  ''  made  a  cove- 
nant with  the  people  that  day, 
and  set  them  a  statute  and  an 
ordinance  ''in  Shechem. 

a  Exod.  15.  25.    2  Kinsrs  11.  17.     b  ver.  26. 


were  in  them.'  Augustin  is  of  the 
same  opinion  in  relation  to  the  true 
meaning  of  the  passage. 

25.  Joshua  made  a  covenant.  Heb. 
ri'^'^D  Ti^i"!  yikrolhberilh,  cut  a  cove- 
nant ;  alluding  to  the  sacrifice  usu- 
ally offered  on  such  occasions.  But 
whether  the  ordinary  rites  were  per- 
formed at  this  time  is  uncertaia. 
The  use  of  this  terra  does  not  per- 
haps necessarily  imply  that  they 
were.  The  ceremonies  usual  in 
forming  and  in  reneioi7ig  a  covenant 

might  not  have  been  the  same. 

^Set  them  a  statute  and  an  ordinance. 
That  is,  as  .some  suppose,  on  renew- 
ing the  covenant  he  formed  the  whole 
into  a  statute  and  ordinance  which 
was  promulgated  for  all  Israel  to  re- 
ceive and  obey.  Both  they  and  their 
posterity  were  to  regard  it  in  the 
light  of  a  binding  enactment,  having 
all  the  force  of  a*  divine  ordinance. 
Otherwise  the  phrase,  '  he  set  them  a 
statute,'  &c  ,  may  mean  that  he  de- 
clared or  propounded  to  them,  he  set 
before  them,  the  sum  and  substance 
of  the  Mosaic  statutes,  which  their 
covenant  obliged  them  to  observe. 
But  from  what  is  said  in  the  next 
verse  of  his  writing  these  words  in 
the  book  of  the  law,  we  think  the 
former  themost  correct  interpretation. 
26.   Wrote  these  words  in  the  hook 


B.  C.  1427.] 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


219 


26  IT  And  Joshua  "  wrote  these 
words  in  the  book  of  the  law  of 
God,  and  took  "^a  o^reat  stone, 
and  *set  it  up  there  "^  under  an 
oak  that  loas  by  the  sanctuary 
of  the  Lord. 

27  And  Joshua  said  unto  all 


c  Deut.  31.  24.     J  Juri^.  9.  6. 
18.     ch.  4.  3.    f  Gen.  35.  4. 


Gen.  28. 


of  the  laio  of  God.  He  made  a  re- 
cord of  the  transaction,  particularly 
of  the  .solemn  engagements  of  the 
people,  and  inserted  it  on  some  blank 
space  of  the  great  roll  on  which  the 
sacred  canon  was  originally  inscrib- 
ed. There  it  was  written,  that  their 
obligation  to  obedience  by  the  divine 
precept  and  by  their  own  promise, 
might  remain  on  record  together.  It 
would  thus,  as  intimated  in  v.  25, 
from  its  very  position,  serve  more 
effectually  as  '  a  statute  and  an  ordi- 
nance,' and  be  in  fact  an  everlasting 
vvitness  against  them  in  case  they 
should  prove  unfaithful  to  the  com- 
pact, for  it  was  probably  transcribed 
from  thence  into  all  the  other  copies 
of  the  law  which  were  multiplied  in 
after  ages  for  the  benefit  of  the  na- 
tion.  ^ITook  a  great  stone,  and  set 

it  up  there  under  an  oak.  To  insure 
still  more  effectually  the  memory  of 
this  solemn  transaction,  Joshua  reared 
a  pillar  of  stone  on  the  spot,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  ancient  times, 
Gen.  28.  18;  Deut.  27.  2,  as  an  en- 
during monument  of  the  event  which 
had  now  occurred.  Whether  the 
stone  contained  an  inscription  defin- 
ing the  purpose  of  its  erection,  isnot 
certain,  though  not  improbable.  The 
'  oak  '  here  mentioned  is  supposed  by 
some  to  have  been  the  same  with 
tjiat  under  which  Jacob  buried  the 
idols  and  images  that  were  found  in 


the  people.  Behold,  this  stone 
si  all  be  "a  witnevss  unto  us :  for 
''  it  hath  heard  all  the  words  of 
the  Lord  which  he  spake  unto 
us  :  it  shall  be  therefore  a  wit- 
ness unto  you,  lest  ye  deny  your 
God. 

g  Gen.  31.  48,  52.  Dent.  31.  19,  2],  26.  ch. 
22.  27,  28,  34.    n  Deut.  32.  1. 

his  family,  Gen.  35,  4,  but  in  Judg. 
9.  6,  the  original  terra  is  translated 
'  plain,'  and  the  place  where  the 
stone  was  set  up  is  called  '  the  plain 

of  the  pillar.' IT  That  was  by  the 

sanctuary  of  the  Lord.  Near  the 
place  where  the  ark  and  the  taber- 
nacle now  stood,  during  their  tem- 
porary continuance  at  Shechem. 
See  on  v,  1. 

27,  It  hath  heard  all  the  words,  &c. 
A  strong  figure  of  speech,  by  which 
he  tacitly  upbraids  the  people  with 
the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  as  if 
this  stone  had  heard  to  as  good  pur- 
pose as  some  of  them  ;  and  if  they 
should  forget  what  was  now  done, 
this  stone  would  so  far  preserve  the 
remembrance  of  it,  as  to  reproach 
them  for  their  stupidity  and  careless- 
ness, and  be  a  witness  against  them, 
Williams  very  appositely  cites  from 
Livy  the  following  instance  of  a  sim- 
ilar phraseology  ; — '  The  general  of 
the  ^qui  informed  the  Roman  am- 
bassadors (sent  to  complain  of  a  plun- 
dering excursion)  that  they  might 
deliver  their  message  to  an  oak  which 
shaded  his  tent.  On  this  one  of  the 
ambassadors,  turning  away,  said: 
'  This  xeuerahle  oak  and  all  the  gods 
shall  knoio  that  you  have  violated  the 
peace  ;  they  shall  now  hear  our  com- 
plaints ;  and  may  they  soon  be  wit- 
nesses, when  we  revenge  with  our 
arms  the  violation  of  divine  and  hu- 


220 


JOSHUA. 


[B.  C.  1426 


28  So 'Joshua  let  the  people 
depart,  every  man  unto  his  in- 
heritance. 

29  IT  ^  And  it  came  to  pass  af- 
ter these  things,  that  Joshua  the 
son  of  Nun  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  died,  being  a  hundred  and 
ten  years  old. 

'SO  And  they  buried  him  in  the 

i  Jud,'.  2.  6,     k  Jud^r.  2.  8. 


man  rights.'  By  a  like  usage  of 
speech  ihe  sacred  writers  frequentl}^ 
call  upon  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
to  hear  their  addresses  to  the  people 
of  Israel.     Deut.  32.  1 ;  Is.  1.  2. 

28.  So  Joshua  let  the  people  depart^ 
every  man  to  his  own  inheritance.  Heb. 
n^D'i  ycshallah,  sent  away^  or  dis- 
missed. This  verse  occurs  in  nearly 
the  same  words  Judg.  2,  G,  with  the 
added  clause,  *  to  possess  the  land  ;' 
i.  e.  that  every  one  might  manfully 
exert  himself  to  expel  the  Canaaniies 
and  obtain  the  complete  possession 
of  his  destined  inheritance. — '  In  this 
affecting  manner  Joshua  took  his 
leave  of  Israeli^  went  from  this  last 
and  perhaps  best  source  to  God  and 
them,  and  was  speedily  taken  to  hi,> 
rest  in  heaven. '•S'coi^. 

29.  Joshua — died, being  a  hundred 
and  ten  years  old.  Precisely  the  age 
of  his  renowned  ancestor  Joseph ; 
yet  he  was  not  buried  in  the  same 
place  with  him,  but  in  his  own  inher- 
itance, which  seems  to  have  been  the 
general  practice. — How  long  he  liv- 
ed after  the  entrance  of  Israel  into 
Canaan  we  have  no  means  of  deter- 
mining. Lighttbot  thinks  it  was 
about  seventeen  years,  but  the  Jew- 
ish chronologers  generally  fix  it  at 
twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight.  There 
is  no  mention  of  any  public  mourn- 
ing at  his  death,  as  there  was  for 


border  of  his  inheritance  in 
'  Timnath-serah,  which  is  ill 
mount  Ephraim,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  hill  of  Gaash. 

31  And  "^Israel  served  the 
Lord  all  the  days  of  Joshua, 
and  all  the  days  of  the  elders 
that  overlived  Joshua,  and  which 

1  chap.  19.  50.  Judges  2.  9.  m  Judges 
2.7. 


Moses  and  Aaron,  and  his  only  epi- 
taph was,  in  effect,  couched  in  the 
brief  terms.  '  the  servant  of  the 
Lord.'  This  however  comprehend- 
ed the  sum  of  the  highest  eulogiums 
that  could  be  bestowed  on  his  charae'- 
ter.  Though  inferior  in  many  re- 
spects to  Moses,  yet  in  this  he  was 
equal  to  him,  that  according  as  his 
work  was  in  the  sphere  in  which  he 
was  placed,  he  had  approved  himself 
a  diligent,  devoted,  and  faithful  ser- 
vant of  the  Most  High  ;  and  no  man 
need  desire  a  more  honorable  testi- 
monial to  record  his  worth  to  his  ov/n 
or  future  generations. 

30.  Buried  him  in  the  border  of  his 
inheritance  in  Timnath-serah.  In  the 
compass,  in  the  limits  of  his  inherit- 
ance. See  the  remark  on  the  import 
of  the  word  'border  '  in  the  note  on 
ch.  19.  25.  Of  Timnath-serah,  see 
on  Judg.  2.  9. 

31.  The  elders  that  over-lived  Josh- 
ua.. Heb.  '  that  prolonged  their  days 
after  Joshua.'  Intimating  that  the 
salutary  influence  of  Joshua's  exem- 
plary life  and  character  extended  be- 
yond the  term  of  his  natural  exist- 
ence, and  served  for  a  number  of 
years  to  keep  the  people  in  a  general 
course  of  obedience.  Whether  for 
good  or  for  evil  the  effect  of  our  ex- 
ample may  be  expected  to  live  afler 
us.    This  shows  that  this  part  of  the 


B.  C.  1420.] 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


221 


had  "  known  all  the  works  of 
the  Lord  that  he  had  done  for 
Israel. 

32  V:  And  °  the  bones  of  Jo- 
seph, which  the  children  of  Is- 
rael brought  up  out  of  Egypt, 
buried  they  in  Shechem,  in  a 
parcel  of  ground  ^  which  Jacob 
bought   of  the   sons   of  Hamor 

n  Deut.  11.  2,  and  31.  13.  o  Gen.  50.  25. 
Exod.  13.  19.    P  Gen.  33.  19. 


book  must  have  been  written  a  con- 
siderable time  after  the  death  of  Josh- 
ua.   See  on  eh.  4.  9. ni  Which  had 

Tcnoion  all  the  works  of  the  Lord.  Who 
had  been  eye-witnesses  of  them,  who 
had  profoundly  and  devoutly  regard- 
ed them ;  who  had  not  only  seen 
them,  but  pondered  upon  them  with 
those  sentiments  which  they  were 
calculated  to  excite.  Such  is  the 
genuine  import  of  'known'  in  this 
connexion. 

32.  The  bones  of  Joseph  buried  theif 
in  Shechem.  Joseph's  death  took  place 
in  Egypt  about  two  hundred  years 
before  that  of  Joshua,  and  we  learn, 
Gen.  50.  25 ;  Ex.  13.  19,  that  prior  to 
his  decease  he  had  given  a  strict 
charge  that  his  bones  should  be  con- 
veyed away  out  of  Egypt  by  his  peo- 
ple when  they  themselves  went  up 
from  thence.  Accordingly  they  had 
carried  these  precious  relics  with 
them  in  all  their  wanderings  through 
the  wilderness,  and  never  attempted 
to  bury  them  till  they  were  peaceably 
settled  in  the  promised  land.  The  act 
of  sepulture,  though  here  related  after 
the  account  of  the  death  of  Joshua, 
undoubtedly  took  place  before  it,  and 
not  improbably  at  the  time  of  the 
general  convention  at  Shechem  de- 
scribed in  the  present  chapter.  The 
occasion,  at  any  rate,  would  seem  to 


the  father  of  Shechem  for  a 
hundred  pieces  of  silver  ;  and  it 
became  the  inheritance  of  the 
children  of  Joseph. 

33  And  Eleazar  the  son  of 
Aaron  died ;  and  they  buried 
him  in  a  hill  that  pertained  to 
'^  Phinehas  his  son,  which  was 
given  him  in  mount  Ephraim. 

q  Exod.  6.  25.    Judg.  20.  28. 


have  been  a  very  suitable  tune  for 
such  a  solemn  ceremony,  although 
it  be  true  that  a  considerable  long 
interval  had  now  elapsed  since  the 
conquest  and  occupation  of  Canaan, 
If  any  one  prefers  to  translate  the 
original  '  had  buried,'  instead,  of 
'  buried,'  implying  that  the  circum- 
stance took  place  some  years  before, 
when  the  children  of  Joseph  first  re* 
ceived  their  inheritance,  which  they 
would  naturally  be  disposed  at  once 
to  consecrate  by  depositing  within  it 
the  remains  of  their  venerated  an- 
cestor, we  know  of  nothing  to  object 

against  it. ^  Which  Jacob  bought, 

&c.     See  on  Gen,  33.  19. 

33.  And  Eleazar — died.    Probably 
about   the    same  time  with  Joshua. 

IT  In   a  hill  that   pertained    to 

Phinehas.  As  the  cities  assigned  to 
the  priests  lay  in  the  lots  of  Judah, 
Benjamin  and  Simeon,  neither  father 
nor  son  could  properly  inherit  a  por- 
tion located  in  Mount  Ephraim.  But 
such  a  portion  might  be  given  them 
there,  and  the  probability  is  that  the 
people  voluntarily  gave  to  the  high 
priest  a  place  of  residence  situated  at 
a  convenient  distance  from  Joshua 
and  the  tabernacle,  and  that  this  was 
called  the  '  hill  of  Phinehas,'  because 
he  dwelt  longer  there  than  his  father 
Eleazar  had  done. 


Date  Due 

h  '-■•'  '' 

AUG  8    -ff 

i 

L 

^       :     ■     -        -^ 

MAIM-i^^ 

r 

^ 

ii 

^ 

